


He always comes back

by Awsomekiller666



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Bad Humor, Death, F/F, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:15:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6810598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awsomekiller666/pseuds/Awsomekiller666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't even know just read and tell me what you guys think in the comments</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Last day on Earth

Everything hurts, it’s dark and the people around him are breathing heavily. He can’t tell them that it’s going to be alright, he can’t tell them that they’ll all get out of this alive and unscathed because he doesn’t know. He isn’t sure that they _all_ will be alive by the time this shit is over and done with. He feels eyes on him and he knows that his companions are worried for him, feels the way the van they are held captive in turns and turns, he figures it’s the Savior's way of keeping them disoriented while they wait for whatever reason. He just waits, waits for everything else to go south and turn against them like everything else has.

 

He feels the car stop, causing him and the others to sway with the movement. He bumps his shoulder in the process and he grits his teeth at the pain that courses through his veins. His right side is completely soaked in blood, he feels his bones soak in the air as the van doors are swung open. He was temporarily blinded by the light that invaded his eyes, lifting his hand to cover his eyes he felt hands pull at his body. He was pulled out by the asshole Dwight and before he could glare daggers at the blonde man, what he saw made his heart clench tightly and his stomach drop to the floor.

 

They were all sitting there, on their knees with tear filled eyes and snot running down their noses. Rick, Maggie, Abraham, Eugene, Aaron and Carl were all kneeling in a line, surrounded by maybe fifty men armed with baseball bats and crowbars. He, Rosita, Glenn and Michonne were added to the lineup and he was trembling. His body had lost so much blood that it’s a wonder why he hasn’t passed out and came back as a walker. Once he got the pain under control he started to look around him. To his right was Rosita and Glenn and to his left was Michonne, Abraham, Maggie, Rick, Sasha, Aaron, Carl and Eugene. ‘ _Why?... How are they all here?..._ ’ He thought to himself as he continued to search out his surroundings. He noticed the Rv that once belonged to Dale, an old man who liked to put his nose in others business but was also helpful at times. He noticed that even though they were surrounded by fifty or so men, none of them struck him to be the leader of the group. The more he looked around, the more he knew that at least one person is going to die tonight.

 

His life was draining from him little by little, he could feel it in the way his blood oozed out of the shot wound. Negan had introduced himself, the bastard had been sitting the the RV until they were all situated. He came out all badass and shit, holding a bat wrapped with what looked to be barbed wire on his shoulder, looking at them with predatory amused eyes. He wasn’t paying attention to what the bastard was saying though, how could he when he had his mind focused on how the fuck they were going to escape this shit hole this time.

 

“Hi….Rick was it? I’m Negan and I don’t appreciate you killing my men.... Also when I sent my men to kill you for killing my men… you killed more of my men… Not cool.” ‘ _It’s another one of those charismatic assholes huh?_ ’ He thought to himself as he focused his hearing on Negan but kept his mind on finding an escape route.

 

“Well don’t you look shitty…. Might as well take you out of your misery...” As the bastard said this, Glenn went to attack Negan but the Saviour’s were quick to stop him and pull him back in line. Glenn was hysterical and all the bastard could do was smile at the Korean boy.

 

“Anyone try that again and I will shut that shit down no exceptions…. I know it’s an emotional moment I get it...” He almost growled at the bastards fucking smile, all he wanted to do was rip the man’s head off and place it on a stick and hold it up for all the fucking Saviour’s to see. He held back though, he didn’t want to draw too much attention on himself before he could find out a way to help his family get out of this.

“Man… I simply cannot decide…….” Negan said as he waved that hideous bat around. ‘ _Honestly how many heads have that bat beaten? How many skulls ha that bat crushed?_ ’ He thought to himself. “I got an idea...” Negan said walking over and pointing the bat in Rick’s face.

 

“Eeny… Meeny… Miney… Moe...” Fucking hell was this asshole really playing a game to pick who gets the bat?

 

“Catch… a tiger… by… his toe...” He almost stiffened when the bat paused on to him but he had accepted his fate a long time ago.

 

“If… he hollers… let him go.” Negan Pauses, looking at Aaron with predatory eyes.

 

“My mother… told me... to pick the very best one...” He knew that it was going to land on him, knew since the way Negan had looked at him the first time he pointed that wretched bat in his face. That’s when he realized that this stupid game wasn’t how Negan really chose his victims, he chose with his eyes and this game was just a fucking distraction!

 

“And you…” He knew it was coming, there was no way that it wasn’t going to land on him. He wasn’t scared though, he has been ready to die since the day his brother died but he kept fighting for the family he had left in this walker filled world. “... Are…” That’s what he was afraid of. He was scared that he wasn’t going to be able to protect his only family the way he devoted himself to. He was going to fail Glenn, Carol, Maggie… even Rick and Carl. “... It...” Rick was already tearing up more, his tears sliding down his face as he tried to make eye contact with him. Negan just smiled like the bastard he was. “Anybody moves, anybody says anything cut the boy’s other eye out and feed it to his father and then we’ll start… you can breathe...” He closed his eyes as he cleared his mind. He didn’t want to think about how he was failing Rick and his children, how he was failing Maggie, Glenn and their child, how he wasn’t going to be able to protect his family anymore because his brains was about to be sprawled out on the ground. “You can blink…” All he wanted to do was wake up from this nightmare and finally tell his family how much they mean to him, how much he loved Rick and how happy he was for him and Michonne, how he was so excited for Glenn and Maggie. “You can cry… hell you’re all gonna be doing that.” With that he brought the bat down onto his head. Pain flared all throughout his body, it was more excruciating where his head was. His vision became blurry and pained groans fell passed his lips as he struggled to lift his head to meet Negan’s triumphant gaze.

 

“Oh look at that… taking it like a champ!” He brought the bat down again, his vision going black but he could still hear frantic screaming and what sounded like Rick screaming for Negan to stop. He didn’t as he brought the bat down over and over onto his now crushed skull.

 

**Other POV**

 

They wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to attack Negan and his crew that he calls The Saviour’s but the fear of what happened to Daryl coming upon the rest of them keeping them in place. Glenn was frozen, he didn’t know what to do. He just watched a close brother of his get his head bashed in and he didn’t do anything about it… he couldn’t. He knew that Daryl wouldn’t have wanted him to make any rash decisions, especially when he has a baby on the way but… it didn’t hurt any less knowing that he watched helplessly Daryl get beaten to death. Michonne was in shock, shocked to see Daryl laying there with only a small portion of his head still intact. It wasn’t a look she liked because she was so used to seeing the archer holding his head up high, experienced eyes searching and examining every detail in his surroundings, hands holding his crossbow gracefully as his feet glide through the grass silently but deadly. She wanted to cry, shed tears for her lost friend but she knew that Daryl would scold her, saying something along the lines of _“C’mon ‘chonne… that ain’t a good look for a strong lady as yerself… keep ya self tagether.”_  She could still hear his silky deep voice as he spoke words that expressed his opinions and judgment. She wanted to cry because she watched him grow from such an isolated soul to an man wanting to protect his family. Carl was swallowed into an abyss of sadness as he stared at the corpse of his most favorite person on this planet. He loved Daryl, the man had protected him more than once, saved him from making stupid decisions countless times and to see such a strong and loyal person lay dead just made him want to scream his lungs out.

 

Rick was dead, not physically but emotionally. He just watched his other half, his everything be beaten to death all for a fuckng message! He regretted ever telling Daryl that he wanted Michonne more, that it just felt right with her. His heart thudded painfully at the image of Daryl’s eyes becoming dull with sadness as he processed what Rick had told him that day. To anyone else they would have assumed that Daryl was just angry with how his expression changed to a blank one but to Rick, having known the hunter for so long, it was easy to pinpoint the small signs of sadness overtake those beautiful blue orbs he loved so much. Rick didn’t know why he did it but he regretted every choice he has made up until this point.

 

Maggie was in a fit of hysterical sobs. She just watched her brother die and she couldn’t do anything about it. Daryl was like a brother to her, he was there when she needed that familiare sibling feeling, especially when her family died. Daryl was there to comfort her, help her and protect her and she felt guilty, ashamed that she couldn’t have done anything to save him. She was disgusted in herself for being so helpless, so weak that she couldn’t save her brother from Negan’s sick game. What was she going to do now? She wanted Daryl to see her baby, to hold it and try to name it like he did with Judith… she was never going to get that chance now. Maggie cried, she screamed and all Negan did was smile.

 

“Let this be a lesson to all of you scum bags, I’m in charge now! You all work for me!” Negan knelt down before Rick and nudged his face with the blood covered bat.

 

“ _You_ work for me now Rick, i’m the leader of this group.” He whispered, taking pleasure in seeing Rick shiver when he wiped Daryl’s brain matter over his coat before standing up.

 

“I will collect half of everything you collect in a week… You time starts tomorrow! ” With that Negan whistled for his men to follow him. The Saviour’s took off in the vehicles they owned, leaving Rick the RV and… Daryl’s battered body. Rick sobbed, he didn't want to look. He wanted to remember Daryl with his face intact and those beautiful diamond blue eyes watchful of everyone's moves. He wanted to remember Daryl’s small smile when Judith used his body as a personal jungle gym. Rick just couldn’t believe that Daryl Dixon was dead.

“Rick...” Came Michonne’s voice, which was weak, a stark contrast to how strong her voice usually is.

 

“Yeah…. Yeah let’s go.” He stood up, with all eyes on him he started walking toward the RV.

 

“We can’t just leave him here!” Glenn spoke up. Was Rick really going to leave Daryl’s body to be walker food?

 

“I know…. But we have to take Maggie to the hilltop and... ”

 

“Dad! We are not leaving Daryl’s body here!”

 

“... we have to take Maggie to safety...”

 

“Rick, Daryl wouldn’t have left any of us laying like that… he would do his best to bring us peace and i’m not leaving until I have brung him enough peace.” Maggie said as she struggled to get to her feet. With the help from her husband Glenn, she started walking toward Daryl’s corpse. The others were soon in motion as they took the sheet that once covered Maggie and placed it over Daryl’s body. Since they didn’t have a shovel they all agreed to bury him under all the fallen leaves and branches although they didn’t like it. Once that was done they all spoke their goodbyes.

 

“Daryl…. You helped me when I was in doubt, protected me when I was weak… protected my family when I wasn’t there… gave us food when times were tougher... and even though I never said it enough… Thank you for everything you’ve done. You were like a brother to me and… I will never forget you and I am glad that I was given the chance to meet such an amazing person like you… even though times were tough and it seemed like we were never going to get out of it you stayed strong for us, gave us the support and hope we needed to live, gave us the will to keep going, to keep surviving and… I will always…. Always love you Daryl.” Rick was the last one to speak and with those last final words, the group took off in the RV toward The Hilltop.  

 

**Third person POV**

 

The wind picked up, ruffling the leaves that covered the corpse of once a living loyal soldier. The sun was picking up, rising and illuminating the once dark indigo sky. Some of the leaves that covered the corpse were carried off with the wind, revealing the battered body of Daryl Dixon.

Walkers passed by, some by groups and other’s solo. However, they didn’t investigate the body laying there. Whether it was from the eerie sensation emitting from the body of the way the atmosphere seemed to shift into a more dangerous one. The walkers didn’t know any better, they were numb to any emotion and so they kept on their journey, unaware of the dangers lurking right from the body laying on the ground.

 

Two survivors came by, rounded from the tree and stopped when they saw the amount of blood and gore on the ground.

 

“What happened here?”

 

“Probably another unfortunate group got a visit from the Saviour’s and Negan… ”

 

“Poor people…. I feel bad…. I remember what it felt like to be on my knees, helpless as Negan played his favorite game of Eeny ,Meeny ,Miney ,Moe.” The female survivor said as she walked over to the tire tracks on the ground.

 

“These tracks are still pretty fresh… maybe a few hours old I would say.”

 

“This blood is still fresh too...”

 

“Well of course it is, it was Negan after all. Wherever he goes, blood follows….”

 

“No, over here… the soil was disturbed,... the dirt doesn’t seem to have been shoveled… but more like a body was lying here… there is blood here too.” The male survivor said as he inspected the ruffled leaves, crushed twigs and fresh blood. ‘ _What the hell happened here?’_ The male survivor thought as he continued to inspect the blood and soon noticed a trail of blood along the crushed twigs and disturbed dirt.

 

“Hey, over here I found a trail...” He whispered, he didn’t want to startle the one responsible for this trail since it was still fresh after all.

 

“Whoa… who even survived with this much blood loss?” The female asked. Seriously who could even manage to think about moving with how much blood is on the ground?

 

“I don’t know but whoever they are is still close by, these tracks are fresh.”

 

“I see… do you think they are still alive if we find them?”

“I don’t think that would be a problem sister… all we have to do is stay quiet and follow these tracks.” The male survivor started to follow the footprints and droplets of blood, keeping low to the ground so that he won’t attract any unwanted attention.

 

“... and pray that we don’t run into any trouble...” The female muttered to herself, she really wanted to know if this unknown, injured person could be a potential help to her and her brother but she didn’t want her and her brother to run into trouble in the process but that seemed like asking to much in this world.

 

“The tracks stop here, okay let’s split up and hope to find at least some clues okay?”

 

“Do you really think splitting up is a good idea? I mean… these tracks happen to stop pretty suddenly so maybe...” His sister’s voice was cut off suddenly and he furrowed his brows as he searched his surroundings.

 

“Sis…?” He asked, not really keen on taking his eyes from his surroundings as he might miss something.

 

“Sister… are you alright?” He turned and he let out anstartled scream at the sight that unfolded before him. There lay his sister’s corpse, a gaping hole in her face where her eyes used to be and when he looked up a man stood before her, holding the missing chunk of flesh from his sister’s face. The man just stood there, looking at him with frightening dead blue eyes and a wicked cheshire smile on his face.

 

The male survivor moved back slowly, afraid to remove his eyes from the thing that stood just a few feet from him. With this action caused him to trip over a tree root that stuck out from the dirt. Falling backwards he ended up hitting his head on a nearby rock but despite the pain he never removed his eyes from the being that stood before him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized that his sister lay just a few feet away from him as well, memories flashed before his eyes as he lay there. The being’s smile then disappeared and took on a more frightening stoic expression. It’s pupil’s were in a tiny circle, barely visible from where he was lying and it just looked at him, that chunk of flesh still in it’s hands, dripping blood onto the ground, that’s when he noticed it’s clothes.

 

“Who… a-are you?” He asked it as he took in it’s appearance. The being’s clothes were battered with dry blood. It only had on a leathered vest and black jeans with combat boots. There was blood dripping from it’s left shoulder and blood matted it’s hair. It’s body held no real emotion, no indication to give away what it was thinking and it’s dead expression was still frightening as hell.

 

“W-who are you…?” He tried again, surely this being had to be some sort of human right? If it was a walker it would have been shambling toward him a long time ago. It didn’t answer, it just stared at him with it’s dead eyes and he found himself trembling in fear. After what felt like hours, the thing started moving toward him. It was as if the thing was controlled by a remote and had been on pause the entire time but now fate had pressed play and it was moving toward him. In three long strides the being was standing above him. The male survivor was frozen, his bones felt like jelly and his nerves were nonfunctional as he looked up at it.

 

He didn’t know what was worse, knowing what was to come or anticipating when it was going to strike. He looked at his sister, wanting to keep his eyes on something he knew and loved than something he doesn’t know and fears. The being shifted, lifting it’s hand and the male survivor shut his eyes tightly, hoping that it was going to be quick and painless. After what felt like years of anticipation, he opened his eyes to the sound of retreating footsteps. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the man walk away from him. They way it walked confirmed his assumption that this thing wasn’t a walker and made a new profound fear seize his soul at the realization that there may be a new found enemy that is more dangerous than any number of walkers.

 

As quietly as he could, he rose to his feet and moved over to his deceased sister. Collecting the items he may need from the corpse and looking up every few minutes to check his surroundings. Once he was satisfied that he had everything he needed, he started to head back the way he had come.

 

When he was back on the dirt road he and his sister had traveled on, he allowed himself to relax and tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart. When he resumed his focus he heard faint tires crunching the gravel of the dirt road. Fearing that it was the Saviours that had come back, he jumped into the nearest bush and quietly watched an old looking RV pass on by. Knowing that he never saw this van in the hands of the Saviours, but with the fear that this was the Saviours but with w new car made him stay put where he was.

 

He saw more than heard the RV come to a stop beside a sign. He saw a the door being opened and saw a few people exit the van, his heart rose to his throat when he saw that their guns were pointed at the bush he was hiding in.

 

“Don’t shoot!... I’m coming out!” He said as calmly as he could, with no other choice than to turn himself in by this point he slowly began to rise from his hiding spot, hands in the air as he did so.

 

“Hi...” He looked at the man with orange hair, this guy was buffed and the male survivor knew that he didn’t stand a chance against someone like that.

 

“Who are you?” The ginger asked.

 

“I’m just a male survivor... was traveling these parts when we happened upon a clearing… saw a lot of blood and a body covered in leaves...” The male survivor didn’t miss the way the ginger’s eyes seemed to change from hard and cold to sad and dull in a matter of seconds, he chose to continue.

 

“... Whos we?”

 

“Me and my sister sir… but… ” He faltered, the memory of his sister lying there dead was just too painful to recall. “... but she’s dead.”

 

“How did she die?” A female, one with dreads and held the handle of her katana, asked him.

 

“A man.... Or something just punched a hole clean through her face… then just stood there looking at me with his dead blue eyes and cheshire smile….” He shivered as he retold his encounter with that thing and remembered the feeling of those eyes boring into his.

 

“A man… what did he look like?” The ginger asked.

 

Choosing to keep that information to himself, he chose instead to lie and decided that he would tell them later if he ever met with them again. “I didn’t get a good look, he was too far away to see and details other than his white teeth and dead eyes… sorry...”

 

“It’s fine… but you’re coming with us.”

 

“Oh I don’t think that’s necessary… I’ve been out here since the world went to shit and...”

 

“Yeah our friend was out in these woods since the day he was born but that didn’t save him from...”

 

“So that blood belonged to your friend huh?”

 

“Yeah… he was… an amazing brother...” He felt her pain, he knew what it felt like to know you failed your family.

 

“I’m sorry to hear than ma’am… but really I think I would be better off on my own.”

 

“No… you are coming with us...”

 

“Michonne, if he wants to be left alone then let him be… we can’t force anyone to follow us… otherwise we’d be no better than Negan.” The woman, Michonne, seemed to listen to what the ginger was saying and nodded at the male survivor before turning around and walking back to the RV.

 

“If you ever need anything, stop by Alexandria… we’d be happy to help you.” The ginger nodded a goodbye before following Michonne into the RV. Soon the van took off and the Male survivor was left alone once again. Deciding to go in a different direction, he headed back the way he had came which was the opposite direction of the RV.

 

The woods became silent, eerily so and he didn’t know what to think of it. The male survivor continued on, he he was so lost in thought, in the grief that came with his sister’s death that he was completely unaware that he was being hunted by the silent being following him.


	2. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here you guys go :)

Hilltop was silent when Rick and his group entered the place. It was around dawn when they had arrived, the streets were empty and the crickets were eerily quiet. Nobody was outside, save for the person who had let them in and the wind that passed through the trees, ruffling the leaves. The group was even more quiet, labored breathes and watery eyes as they dragged their feet toward the house one of the Hilltoppers were leading them to.

 

Nobody spoke as the group sat down, they kept their eyes down.  Michonne was the first to break the silence.

 

“He… was a good man… and he wouldn’t want us to be sad… Daryl would want us to be strong and keep surviving like we are now… he gave his life so nobody would have to and I will not let that sacrifice be in vain.” She said as she stood up and looked at everyone around her.

 

“Daryl was the strongest person I have ever met and I will not let his death pass on by like it meant nothing.” Michonne was angry, she was so furious at everyone, at that asshole Negan and most of all, herself.

 

“Michonne’s right, Daryl would be scolding us right now if he were here, saying things like ‘C’mon ya ain’t nobodies bitch’ or something.” Glenn spoke up next, standing next to Michonne and looking at his family. He knew Daryl and that man would be shaking his head at them if he were here, the thought made Glenn almost smile, instead the thought that Daryl was no longer here made fresh tears well up in his eyes.

 

“What do you want me to do huh? Negan had killed one of my strongest soldiers without a second thought! You really think he won’t do it again?!” Rick was furious, they all knew that was coming but the look in his eyes were different.

 

“We know what Negan did…. We were all there...”

 

“... So what do you expect me to do? Just go up to his place and shoot him?! Risk more of us getting killed!?” Rick hissed, he was so angry at himself for being so weak and letting Negan get away with killing Daryl. Worst of all, they couldn’t even bury Daryl properly either, no they had to agree on covering him with leaves and twigs. ‘ _Daryl was probably walker chow by now.._.’ Rick shivered at the thought of walkers ripping apart Daryl’s stomach and pulling out his insides to eat, that thought just made him want to vomit.

 

“We have more problems at hand right now...”

 

“And what might that be? Because last time I checked, we might have a new infected on our hands… according to that survivor me and Abraham bumped into on the road.”

 

“That man said that he has been out there since this shit started, it most likely made him crazy and he was just telling us things to get us riled up...”

 

“So you don’t believe him?”

 

“Hell no, that man looked like he was on some crazy shit before we got to him.”

 

“But...”

 

“Look ‘Chonne, if you want to believe him then go ahead but I don’t and will not believe a word he said until I see this shit for myself.” With that, Abraham got up and walked out the house, announcing that he was going to help by taking guard duty for the rest of the night. With this announcement, Sasha got up from where she was sitting, muttering that she was going to do the same, and trailed after Abraham, closing the door on her way out.

 

“So… did you see for yourself this thing that man was talking about?” Glenn asked as he laid Maggie’s head on his lap as she slept peacefully. Michonne shook her head.

 

“No, I had asked the man if he had seen the thing he was talking about but he said no…  somehow I got the feeling that he was lying.”

 

“Whatever this thing is, it can wait.” Came Rick’s small reply.

 

“What? but...”

 

“No! The thing isn’t here so we don’t worry about it… right now we focus on getting cleaned up and getting some sleep...”  Rick knew that none of his family was going to get any shut eye tonight, save for Maggie who was on some drugs that the Doctor had given her. Rick got up, looked at his people to see if anyone would dare to defy him. When all he got was somber looks and frowns, he walked away. Rick climbed up the stairs, every step took more energy out of him. When Rick was at the top of the stairs he heard the front door being opened and footsteps coming in. Soon after he heard a voice and Rick just shook his head and continued to the bathroom.

 

“Hey guys...” Jesus greeted the alexandrians, noticing the dull looks and sad frowns.

“Um… bad night huh?” He asked, noticing a certain redneck was missing.

 

“Yeah… really bad night.” Glenn answered him, looking at Jesus with a look that made Jesus wonder what the hell happened.

 

“What happened?” Right after he asked, the looks he got gave him the feeling that he was going to need to sit down for this one.

 

“Well… we were trying to get to the doctor that was here because Maggie was having pains and she was catching a fever...” Jesus looked at Maggie, peacefully sleeping, as Eugene continued. “... the Saviours were playing games with us, everywhere we turned too they were there. After a while we grew tired of their games and we came up with a plan that required me to take the RV and distract the Saviours while Rick and the others took Maggie to safety… didn’t work out that way though and it ended up with all of us getting captured by Negan…” Jesus started to get a sinking feeling that he knew why his favorite person wasn’t here. “... Negan started to talk, and before I knew it he was playing a game of Eenie, Meeny, Miney, Moe… Daryl was chosen and...” That’s where Eugene stopped and Jesus saw the silent tears falling from the man’s face. Jesus looked at every single person in the room and saw the tears falling freely from their eyes. He felt sick to his stomach, sad to the core.

 

“So… Daryl is gone?...” Jesus knew the answer to that question but he just couldn’t believe that the man he had been crushing on ever since Daryl had chased after him on that field and he trying to escape the rednecks wrath…was dead... he never even got to tell Daryl how beautiful his eyes were.

 

No one answered his question, to lost in their thoughts to even acknowledge him.

 

“I’m sorry… for your loss.”

 

“We are too.” Michonne muttered.

 

**Third person POV - Outside of Hilltop**

He didn’t know where he was going, or which direction he was even headed in. All he knew was that he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to find a safe place to lay his head down for the night.

 

The male survivor had been walking ever since he had that fortunate meeting with those Alexandrians. Unfortunately for him, on the path he had been walking on held a traveling group of about 13 or so walkers. With nothing but a knife and a few bullets in his desert eagle, the man had no choice but to change his course and travel deep within the trees and bushes.

 

It was around dawn when he stumbled upon a well guarded place. The walls were made of steel and for a second he thought that this was Alexandria but then he read a sign that stated that this place was named ‘Hilltop’. Deciding that this was better than nothing, he started to move forward again only to raise his hands up high in the air when he saw a laser light aiming on his chest.

 

“DON’T SHOOT!!! PLEASE!!” He called out to the person keeping guard at the gate, which he had failed to see upon arriving here.

 

“Oh shit… You the man I happened upon earlier? The one with the crazy story of a new monster out there?” The gatekeeper responded and the male survivor rested his arms at his sides when he realized who he was speaking to.

 

“Yeah… thought you belonged in Alexandria?”

 

“We do but we needed help from the doctor over here.”

 

“You and Hilltop well acquainted?”

 

“You could say that.”

 

“May I come in then?”

 

“If I was the leader of this place then yeah but unfortunately it depends on the ninja.”

 

“The… ninja?”

 

“Yeah you see this man named Jesus is a fucking ninja and he owns the place.”

 

“Who calls themselves ‘Jesus’?” The male survivor smirked. Who in their right mind called themselves Jesus?

 

“That would be me.” Came a voice from behind him and the man swirled around in shock, holding his knife in a defensive stance.

 

“Holy shit you are a ninja...” He muttered once he realized that this mysterious man meant no harm and calmed down.

 

“You could say that… what’s your name?”

 

“... Steve… my name is Steve.”

 

“Nice to meet you Steve, I’m Paul but people call me Jesus… your pick.”

 

“Nice to meet you too Paul.”

 

“State your business.” Jesus went on as he and Steve walked toward the gate.

 

“I was hoping to have a safe place to rest my head for the night….”

 

“How did you find this place?”

 

“Honestly, I was just walking around and happened to be blessed with this sight when I passed by.”

 

“Great, well welcome to Hilltop my friend but to be on the safe side I will need to hold onto your belon….” However, Jesus wasn’t able to continue when Steve was thrown to the ground by another body, pouncing onto him with shear force, his head slashed off by the mysterious third party swiping his hand at a truly frightening speed.. The blood splattered all over Jesus face as he stood there in shock.

 

“SHIT!” He heard Abraham call and soon after he heard gunshots. He saw the bullets hitting the ground when Steve’s corpse lay. The bullets were meant for the third party but that man was nowhere in sight. In order to hear if there was any other sounds he screamed for Abraham to stop shooting and listened for any particular sound that didn’t belong in the night. Sure enough, Jesus heard the snarls of walkers and thudding footsteps fading away into the still dark forest.

 

“Fuck!” Jesus swore and he took off into the direction he believe the footsteps were fading in.

 

“Wait Paul!” Heard the voice of Glenn, who apparently came out of the infirmary when he heard the commotion.

 

“You’re not getting away...” Jesus whispered to himself as he continued to chase after the mysterious being, ignoring Glenns desperate calls for him to slow down so he could at least catch up.

 

Being to distracted by his overwhelming senses, he didn’t notice that the being he had been chasing had stopped dead in it’s path and was looking at him. Going to fast and realizing this information too late ended with Jesus colliding with the murderer and falling backward. Looking up at the fiend, he saw a body standing before him, illuminated by the rising sun from behind, creating a dark silhouette that looked oddly familiar.

 

His breath caught in his throat when the figure started to move closer. The sky was getting lighter, the dark figure was moving closer and Jesus was at a lost for what to do at this point. When the being stepped close enough, the sun was high in the sky that the light was shining through the leaves of trees, creating light streaks. One streak of light happened to land upon the eyes of the fiend and Jesus froze.

 

Those eyes were way too familiar. To Jesus they looked like diamonds and there was only one man Jesus knew that had eyes that resembled blue diamonds.

 

“D… Daryl?” Jesus failed to see the fact that those very eyes were looking at him in a more bored fashion, looking almost dead in comparison to normal human eyes.

 

“But… how… your friends said… that Negan killed you… h-how?” Jesus was dumbfounded, so much that he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps.

 

Daryl just stood there, no reaction to Jesus questions.

 

“JESUS!” Glenn called out as he approached Jesus and the mysterious being.

 

Hearing that more people were coming to Jesus aid, Daryl moved away from the light and turned around, running away and putting distance at a fast pace. Jesus couldn’t remove his eyes from the silhouette of Daryl and even though he knew who it was, fear still coursed through his body, deep within his veins.

 

“JESUS! Are you okay?” Glenn asked once he and Abraham caught up to the man lying on the ground.

 

“Where’d he go? Ya lost him?” Abraham asked, checking their surroundings through the scope of his rifle.

 

“No… it… he just… What the fuck is going on?” Jesus asked when he stood up. The others just looked confused and uncertain, especially Glenn who had literally no clue as to why Jesus was freaking out and why Abraham had a confused look on his face.

 

“C’mon, let’s get back inside before that thing decides it wants to kill us.”  Abraham said, the other two agreeing to his silent request of getting the hell out of there asap.

 

“What thing are we talking about here?” Glenn asked as the three walked back toward Hilltop.

 

**Rick’s POV**

 

I was exhausted, there was no trace of energy left in my veins when I sat down at the edge of the bed. My back ached, my eyes dropped and my breath became shallow however, even with my body screaming for me to let down and rest I couldn’t. My mind was a jungle of thoughts and questions that refused to die down for the night. My heart was a jumble of emotions that filed themselves deep within my bones and won’t wash away, even when I scrubbed myself raw with soap.

 

I was tired but the sun didn’t seem to care as it continued to rise. The blinds were shut thankfully since the first rays of sunshine slipped through the cracks that the blinds weren’t able to shut out.

 

My heart was switching between guilt to sadness, then back to anger and regret. My mind processed so many thoughts and questions that it was countless.

 

_Why didn’t I stop him that morning when he took off on his bike?_

 

_How is this going to affect the group?_

 

_What will I do now?_

_How does Carl feel?_

 

_How will Carol react? How would she feel?_

 

_How do we proceed from here?_

 

_How do I prevent something like this from happening again?_

 

_How do we start collecting supplies for Negan?_

 

It got so bad that I started making a mental list of potential things that Negan would want, what he would need. I started to think about the places that could still have food like canned beans and corn… maybe Negan would like that? I started to plan out all the possible outcomes that could happen if we were to fall short, if we didn’t meant Negan’s expectations he had for us.

 

I was so lost in thought that the distant sound of gunshots nearby nearly made me jump out of my skin. Just as the gunshots stopped, Michonne came bursting in the room, startling me even more.

 

“We got trouble.” She said firmly but I didn’t know what to do. Instead of asking her the question that was on the tip of my tongue, I opted to go outside and see what the problem was for myself.

 

Once outside I was on the brink of anger when I saw literally nothing.

 

“What type of sick joke is this Michonne?” I all but growled when I turned to her.

 

“Look… Glenn had told me to go and get you while he ran in the direction of the forest… I don’t have a good idea on what’s going on.” Michonne informed me, I narrowed my eyes at her.

 

“So Glenn told you to go and get me, bring me out of my thinking just to stand here and figure out what the hell is going on? Are you saying that you let Glenn put himself in danger?”

 

“Rick...”

 

“Right when he is about to become a father? Are you really fucking serious?” Just as Michonne was about to answer me, Maggie came out of the infirmary, looking scared out of her mind and her husband's name rolling passed her lips. I glared at Michonne as I turned around, looking toward the gate to see three people come out of the forests clutches.

 

“What in the hell were you thinking?” I asked once I was face to face with Glenn. He looked at me confused until he saw Maggie struggling to walk toward him. I saw realization fill his eyes as he race toward her, my expression and anger ceased a bit as well.

 

“I’m sorry...” That was all I heard before I focused my attention to Abraham and Jesus, only for my eyes to widen a fraction when I saw the look Jesus had on his face.

 

“The hell happened out there?” I asked cautiously. Jesus just continued to look down as he walked passed me, I focused my gaze on Abraham, demanding answers from the man with my narrowed eyes.

 

“I was keeping guard when a man came staggering out them bushes, thought he was a walker but as it turns out, it was just the same man me and Michonne had happened to pass by on the road yesterday... anyway Jesus had come out because the man was asking for a place to sleep for the night and Jesus was about to let him in when all of a sudden I saw the man go down, he went down hard but I couldn’t see what was happening other than a dark figure killing the man… I started shooting but the fucker used the darkness to it’s advantage and slipped back into the trees. Jesus chased after him and by the time me and Glenn had caught up, the fucker was already down the road and Jesus was lying on the floor, looking like he’d seen a ghost or some shit….” I had listened closely during the whole time Abraham was talking. I noticed that the other man looked tense and angry so I chose to wait for another time until I bombard him with questions.

 

“We’ll talk more about this later, right now we need to figure out what are we going to do for Negan’s rations understood.” I said, he nodded and I turned to walk away but his voice stopped me.

 

“Rick there was something else...” I looked back at him, raising one eyebrow in question.

 

“Before we caught up with Jesus me and Glenn… we heard Jesus saying something...” I was extremely confused as to why Abraham looked uncomfortable and uncertain if he should continue, it was a sharp contrast to his usual ‘I’m going to say what I want and I don’t give a fuck’ attitude that he usually has.

 

“Care to elaborate?”

 

“Jesus he was… talking to the thing that killed that other man… saying things like ‘How are you still alive?’ and calling him Daryl...” I freeze at that last part, the memories of Daryl lying there with his head in bits… I shudder and at this point I couldn’t care ifn Abraham noticed.

 

“Maybe he was imagining things… that man liked Daryl… a lot actually.” I mutter, any anger in me just vanished once I heard Daryl’s name.

 

“Wait really?” Abraham asked, curious. I could tell that Abraham hadn’t been paying close attention to the way Jesus used to look at Daryl, the way Jesus used to smile and get a happy gleam in his eyes when Daryl walked through these gates. I have a fairly good clue as to why Abraham wasn’t able to pick that one up, that reason comes in the form of Sasha and Rosita.

 

“Yeah, hell you could feel Jesus swooning over Daryl all the way from Alexandra.” I answer, shaking my head at the way Daryl used to glare at Jesus smiling face.

 

The atmosphere seemed to lift up a bit, it sure as hell didn’t feel like the clouds were hovering above the ground and suffocating any living thing. I could tell that Abraham had more things to tell me but at the moment I knew it wasn’t right to continue this conversation.

 

“We’ll speak more on this matter later… possibly when there isn’t so many hilltop people around yeah?” I look at the orange haired man, challenging him to say another word on this matter however, Abraham doesn’t say a thing and nodded with an understanding look in his eyes, as if he knew how I was feeling and why I wanted to dismiss this topic and never talk about it again. I knew I needed to come to terms with Daryl’s death but right now, I also knew that I needed to gather the rest of my family and create a stable plan of gathering supplies for Negan’s crew.

 

With that thought in mind and a bit of determination, I nodded my head in return and went to gather the others.

 

“Hey Rick!” I hear my name being called and turn around once more, only to catch sit of Jesus jogging up toward me.

 

“Yes?” I ask once the man is right in front of me.

 

“Is there anything I can do?” Even though this was a simple question, I felt as though there was more meaning to it than just asking for help and judging by Paul’s tone of voice, which was quiet and lacked his usual cheer, I would say that my assumption was right.

 

“If you’re talking about that...”

 

“Yes… I know how it felt… to be on your knees, helpless and thinking of ways to help you closest friends get out… I know how it felt to watch… to watch Negan kill one of your own… Gregory he… he wasn’t there...” I was both saddened and shocked to hear this. Sad because Jesus had went through what I had been through recently and shocked because even though Jesus wasn’t the leader of Hilltop, he was there to suffer what was meant for the real leader. Upon processing what Jesus was telling me, I became angry with Gregory. The man acted as though he was on top of the world yet from what Jesus has told me so far, that lazy asshole hasn’t stepped foot out of Hilltop since the world went to shit.

 

“Negan addressed me as the leader and even though I had wanted to be leader of this place before… watching as he mercilessly beat Jacobs head in made me have second thoughts...” He mumbled and I wished Daryl was here to take Jesus mind off of his pain.

 

“All i’m saying is that I know how you feel Rick… and you’re not alone. Don’t let it consume you… the memories, the images… the regrets… stay strong okay.” It wasn’ a statement, it was question if I was going to be able to stay strong when the memories and images start to take over my mind when I try to sleep.

 

“I will Jesus.” I state firmly after thinking about what Jesus said for some time.

 

He nods and smiles at me. I turn and we walk together toward the big house I know my family is staying at. It was an unspoken agreement that Jesus was going to help me and the others come up with a plan to get Negan his stuff. After replaying Jesus words in my head I couldn’t help but feel a little better knowing that I wasn’t alone with this feeling of being a coward and a huge failure. I felt the tension wash away from my bones when I looked upon my family, eating and conversing with one another, smiling when I saw Carl lying Michonne’s arms and Glenn caressing Maggie’s stomach. The atmosphere felt better overall and I knew that a great future lay ahead of us even when times looked dull right now. I just didn’t know how wrong I was.


	3. A New Enemy Is Approaching

He felt furious for no apparent reason. Felt betrayed and hurt all at the same time. He wanted to see blood ooze out of wounds he will inflict on those responsible, wanted to see the life drain from the very eyes of his enemies. He wanted to feed on the fear that coursed through their veins at the very sight of him and yet… he hadn’t shown himself yet. 

 

Walking over an exposed root, he continued to indulge himself in his own mind as he continued to wander. He however, couldn’t explore the deep ends of his mind when a small number of walkers came shambling around a thick tree trunk. He stopped in his tracks, glaring at the nuisances as they stumbled by. The sudden urge to see blood, a strong appetite filled his bones to the brim and he growled, a low and deep sound that vibrated deep within his throat. The walkers seemed to have heeded his warning but Daryl was sure that the walkers thought it was another potential meal to fill their dead stomachs.

 

He narrowed his eyes and growled again when the walkers started to stumble their way over to him. The first one was close enough and tried to grab at his tattered clothing however, before the nuisance could get a firm grip Daryl moved his shoulder away. The walker fell down from the lack of balance and he smiled at the sight of the damned thing trying to grab at his leg.  _ ‘Stupid things, nothing better to do than grab!’  _ He thought as he started to slowly lift his foot. Daryl was about to bring his foot down onto the walker’s head and smash the remaining skull and brain matter the thing had however, before he could the other walkers came shambling toward him, snarling and snapping their jaws hungrily at him. 

 

He decided against his original plan of bringing an end to the fallen walker and moved away before the other walkers could grab him. His decision proved to be a good one when he hear faint footsteps. Daryl tried to get a better hearing of the footsteps but the snarling was obstructing his hearing. He decided to hide behind the thick trunk that the horde had stumbled passed earlier and waited to see who the footsteps belonged to. 

 

The walkers were a good enough bait to lure the humans out of the deep forest. Daryl looked upon them with a dead gaze as a dark skinned man and a woman in a brown coat walk to the walkers, who have noticed the humans now. 

 

The man had a stick, he seemed to know how to use it in a weird way but it was effective in disposing of the walkers. Obviously the man couldn’t have take all of them things down by himself without getting a bit or two but Daryl saw the woman in brown start to shoot at them with a silenced gun. She seemed to be hurt, judging by the way she is leaning on the thick tree for support. 

 

“That seems to be all of them for now…. C’mon let’s go.” 

 

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” The woman said in a weak, defeated voice. 

 

“Because i’m not letting you die out here.” Daryl looked between the two as they stared eachother down. His blue eyes darting left and right, he really didn’t care what happened right now. Daryl was beyond bored right about now, the man stole his kills so he couldn’t entertain himself with that… _ ’wait a second’  _ He thought. ‘ _ I can use them as entertainment… yes that sounds splendid. _ ’ Daryl smiled to himself, his smile widening when he saw the shocked faces of the man and women when he stepped out from his hiding place. 

 

“Daryl, oh thank god please tell this man to leave me alone!” The woman seemed to have known his name, looking at him with hopeful eyes as he continued to stare upon them. 

 

“Daryl you know that letting her be by herself with end with her getting killed.” So they both knew him huh?  _ Interesting _ . 

 

Daryl didn’t answer instead, he just stared at them with emotionless eyes. He figured that killing them wouldn’t be too fun since humans seem to die fairly easily so what could he do? Removing body parts is out of the question and just slashing them repeatedly is boring as hell so what? Oh… he has a very good idea, an idea that would be fun for both parties. 

 

“What’s wrong with you?” The man asked, raising his stick and reading himself in a defensive stance. Daryl looked at the stick, smirking at how pathetic it looked against his strength and speed. 

 

“Morgan what are you doing? That’s Daryl that you’re threatening!” The woman said, looking at Morgan with wide, questioning eyes.

 

“Carol now I know that this may sound crazy but that right there is  **not** Daryl.” ‘ _ Not Daryl? The fuck? _ ’ He was starting to rethink his plans on what to do with these two, he could kill Morgan and hunt down Carol. While Daryl thought about ways to entertain himself with these pathetic people, he kept his eyes trained on Morgan who seemed to be inching closer ever so slightly. A dark chuckle escaped his lips at the thought that Morgan was trying to get the first hit on him.

 

“What are you?” 

 

_ Me?  _

 

“What happened to Daryl?”

 

_ Oh you don’t want to know. _

 

“Speak!” 

 

_ Die. _

 

With that last thought in mind, Daryl surged forward in a blur. Claws out and ready to tear up human flesh as he flew passed Morgan. Too fast for him to react Daryl swiftly turned on his heels, stepped closer and plunged his fist through Morgan's chest, taking his heart out in the process. 

 

Morgan fell to the ground immediately after Daryl removed his hand. Carol stood there in shock as Daryl lifted his foot over Morgan’s head and brought it down, crushing the man’s skull into bits. He smiled at the blood that covered his hand and foot, liking some of it off his fingers he realized that their blood tasted really good and it awakened a deep hunger within him. 

 

Carol knew that she should be running right about now but unfortunately, the wounds she endured from that Saviour has thrown that option out the window. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to stare at the man that was once her friend, her protector… her family.  _ What happened to him? Why is he like this?  _ She asked herself as the tears slipped down her cheeks.

 

Daryl finished licking Morgan’s blood off of his hands, he had dropped Morgan’s heart a while ago in favor of licking up this delicious blood. He looks down at Morgan’s corpse one last time before turning around and setting his sights on a teary eyed Carol.  He smiles wickedly. 

 

_ Time to play, Carol.  _

 

**Third person POV**

 

The group was getting ready to leave Hilltop and head back to Alexandria. They had spent the majority of the day gathering supplies for Negan. They had most of the RV stocked with crates full of canned goods and other foods, Glenn had said that he couldn’t find water to fill the clean water bottles so Rick knew that he was never going to hear the end of that from Negan and he feared that another one of his family members will meet a familiar fate that Daryl had met. This fear is what motivated him to push his group harder, pushed them to their limits that by noon his family looked about ready to collapse. 

 

“Come on let’s get this loaded so we can go.” Came Rick’s loud voice. Glenn and the others nodded but didn’t look up as they were too busy loading the supplies into the truck that Jesus volunteered to drive. 

 

_ Time skip… _

 

The supplies was loaded and the group was ready to go home.  

 

“Paul!” Rick called out the the man, waiting for the man to pull up next to him. When the blue pick up truck parked next to him, he told Jesus that he would lead the way and for Jesus to stay close behind and to make sure that if he saw trouble to honk the horn twice. Jesus nodded and waited for Rick to start driving.

 

The group was a few miles away from Hilltop when they heard it. A shrill scream that echoed throughout the area, thickening the air with dread and making everyone tense.  Rick ordered Abraham to stop the car, honking the horn three times to signal Jesus to top his car as well. When the RV came to a stop Rick exited the car, looking around and taking in his surroundings. The trees were tall with thick trunks and lot’s of leafs, making Rick realize that they were around the thickest part of the forest. 

 

“Okay, this is part of the forest is dangerous so we will go back and….” However before Rick could continue telling his group what the new plan was, Rick saw a figure burst through the thickness of the bushes from the corner of his eye. When he turned he saw that the figure was wearing a brown coat and holding their leg like it was hurting.

 

“RICK!” The figure called and Rick knew instantly who this figure was.

 

“CAROL!!” He called back and the group was in action. Running toward her quickly.

 

“Carol are you okay?” Rick asked once they were close enough. She collapsed into his arms, breathing heavily and holding leg. 

 

“M… Mo-organ he…. Daryl was...” She tried but failed to find the words to describe the horrors she just seen.  

 

“Shh just breath okay, c’mon let’s get you up so we could...” Rick was cut off when he heard Jesus call his name. He looked back only to see the horrid faces staring at something. They looked to be staring at him but their eyes were slightly raised, looking at something behind him. 

 

Rick turned and looked up, freezing in fear. Rick had caught Carol in his arms pretty close to where the bushes ended so when he looked up and saw a dark silhouette standing there before him. Rick watched as the dark figure crouched down slowly, it was eery how still the thing was and Rick had a sickening gut feeling when e saw the figure move again, only to move a hand up slowly and move it towards the light. When the sun’s light hit the mysterious guys hand everything seemed to happen in slow motion. 

 

The hand that Rick had been watching moved so fast, grabbing a hold of Carol’s leg and pulling her back into the bushes, it would’ve succeeded if not for Rick tightening his hold on the poor woman and holding on for dear life. 

 

“Rick don’t let go!” When Glenn heard these words he had a flashback to when the walkers were pulling Noah into the lobby where they proceeded to rip him apart in front of Glenn’s eyes.  With this fear that Carol was about to meet a much worse fate he sprung to action, helping Rick by grabbing a hold of Carol’s waist while Rick held her shoulders. Glenn felt her desperate hands holding onto him as she was pulled closer to her death. Abraham told Sasha to stay and try and get an aim at the dark figure while he proceeded to grab a hold of Rick by placing his arms across the man’s chest from behind and pulling with all his might. Aaron stayed with Sasha and aimed his gun at the silhouette while Eugene went and grabbed Glenn by the waist and pulled.

 

The men groaned as they pulled. When they pulled the silhouette pulled harder and Carol screamed as she felt a searing pain shoot through her hip.

 

“Wait! It’s pulling my leg… it’s going to pull my leg off!” She desperately yelled and feared that nobody heard her. Rick shook his head and told Abraham to let go of him and to be ready to grab Carol when he let go. Abraham nodded and Rick let go, getting up and headed over to the hand while Abraham grabbed Carol. 

 

“Wait Rick!” Jesus called after the Alexandrian leader but to no avail. Jesus headed over to Rick but stopped when he saw blues eyes in the dark and then suddenly everything stopped. The hand disappeared into the bushes once again and the group stopped struggling.

 

Rick looked confused hell the whole group seemed confused, except for Carol who seemed more relieved than anything.  Jesus was breathing heavily as he stared at the bushes, ‘ _ Where was he? _ ’ he thought as he continued to stare. 

 

“You okay?” Abraham asked Carol when he felt that nothing was going to happen. The woman could only nod as she held her hip, she knew that something was bound to be out of place there.

 

“C’mon, let’s go. Now!” Rick stated firmly while he stood up. The group knew that Rick was going to be the last person to get inside the RV so they hurried to load Carol into the RV and get it started. 

 

Rick looked around, wondering what could’ve made the thing stop so suddenly. ‘ _ The thing was definitely human’   _ Rick thought as he continued to stare at the bush where the hand disappeared. 

 

“Rick!” Glenn called. Rick knew it was time to go and so he turned around, choosing to ignore the dark chuckle that emitted from the bush he was once staring at. It was deep and low and vibrated around his mind even as the group headed back to Hilltop.

 

**Carol’s POV**

 

My group got to Hilltop in time before I could lose anymore blood. The doctor said that my hip was definitely out of place but it was nothing he couldn’t fix. However he said that since I lost so much blood that I had to wait a little bit before he could fix it and honestly I was relieved to hear that, I don’t think I could take any more pain right now. 

 

I was scared. I was scared for my life and I hadn’t been since Ed was alive and that was a long time ago. Fearing what Daryl’s become now, I don’t know what to do. I just hated this feeling and I feared that at any minute Daryl will show up to finish the job and my family won’t be here to stop me from dieing this time. 

 

I scoff at myself that I actually think that what’s out there is still Daryl. That man would have never put a hand on me if it would hurt me, he was too sweet and compassionate despite his protests about being called sweet. I smiled at the memory of when I had called Daryl a sweet guy. The man had glared at me and told me to go fuck myself but all I could do was laugh and earned an even more fierce glare in return. I wanted to know what happened to my favorite redneck.

 

_ Is he dead? If so how did he die? Did he just up and leave? Did he leave because of me? _

 

All these questions and no answers is what frustrates me the most. I just wanted to know no matter how gruesome it was.  _ That’s a lie.  _ I really didn't want to know the details, I actually dreaded to learn how Daryl died, ‘  _ If he is dead ’  _ I thought to myself. 

 

I sighed, forcing myself to sit up on the cot I was currently laying in. Groaning with the effort it took for me to sit up and the pain that shot up throughout my body. 

 

“Carol you need to be laying down in order to get some proper rest.” Came a voice to my left, looking I noticed that the doctor had came to visit me and caught me sitting up. 

“I can’t rest.” Was all I said. I wasn't lying anyway, how could I sleep when my mind wouldn’t shut off?

 

“A lot on your mind huh?” The man asked as he made his way toward me. I felt more than saw him rest a hand on my shoulder, coaxing me to lay back down. I gave in after a couple of minutes, I honestly didn’t have the energy to keep struggling, not when my body practically screamed for rest.

 

“There you go. The other’s are in their sleeping quarters for the night so don’t worry about any interruptions tonight okay? Just get some rest for now.” With that said I heard the Doctor’s retreating steps becoming fainter as they moved away from my bed. 

 

That night, as I lay awake thinking of Daryl and what could’ve happened to him I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that filled my very soul with each passing minute, whether it be from the truth that’s soon to come about Daryl’s whereabouts or the that something bad is about to or is happening. 

 

I just hoped that the latter wasn’t true.

 

**Third person POV**

 

He scowled at the huge gate that lay upon his path. The stupid thing was in the way of him getting to his destination and he was very close to climbing the damn thing. ‘ _ That would raise your risks of being caught. Think before you do’  _ His mind told him and his scowl deepened.

He growled and bared his teeth at the gate although he knew that the gate was a mere object and not a living thing, therefore the thing couldn’t move out of his way like he wished. He was beyond the level of pissed right about now and he certainly was considering climbing up the damn gate. 

 

He moved closer to the stupid thing, running his fingertips over the surface. He concluded that this gate was made of a fine metal similar to what cars were made of. Daryl then ran his claws upon the surface, feeling satisfied when he noticed the deep scratch marks he left behind.  _ ‘Well that explains why that human ripped to shreds...’  _ he thought to himself, smirking in amusement when he remembered the fun events that occurred today. 

 

After he had chased that woman named Carol, which had ultimately led him having for fun, he had walked around bored out of his mind until he came upon an abandoned campsite. Upon further inspection, it was safe to say that there had been humans resting there just a few moments before he’d arrived and weren’t to far ahead of him. Curiosity sparked within him as he tracked the humans down. Hope for some fun had filled his veins as he looked at the humans gathering herbs. He must’ve looked like a stalker of some kind with how he was perched on a tree branch, staring down at them like a hawk. Daryl remembered a little girl catching sight of him and looking more curious than scared as she called for her mother. It was the way that little girl looked up at him that caused a weird flashback to occur in his mind. A flashback of a farm and a little girl with blonde hair hugging him at all times. Daryl remembered dismissing that idea as nothing more than a fib and glared at the little girl. 

 

Nevertheless, once the mother had taken sight of him, she had alerted the man of the group, which Daryl had assumed as the father, and together the group proceeded to drop the herbs they had collected and run like hellhounds were on there tail.  _ ‘Well considering the situation...’ _ Daryl remembering thinking as he dropped down from his perch and started to chase after them. The little girl was the one to become victim first, this happened all because of her clumsiness when she tripped over an exposed root. He had not been far behind and and it was just too late for the parents to turn around and reach their daughter in time before he got there. They did however, stop and turned around in shock and fear as they saw that he was already on top of the little girl. Long story short the little girl fell victim to his claws that had plunged deep into her skull when he brought down his hand. The looks on the parents faces were priceless and satisfying to say the least and he got up to continue the chase.

 

The mother was the second. The death of her daughter had made her weak and drained her of her will to keep going and ultimately ended with her collapsing because of weak knees and teary eyes. This time, when Daryl had reached her, the father had turned around and started running toward him when Daryl had plunged on clawed finger  into the woman's throat and slit the skin. Blood had poured out onto his hand and he kept his blue eyes on the saddened man as he fell to the ground. There was no fight left in the man as Daryl pounced him and Daryl became angry at the lack of fight his prey was putting up. ‘ _ Why won’t you fight!?’ _ Daryl remembered thinking as he repeatedly ripped apart chunks and strips of flesh and whatever else his claws had gripped in his frenzy. Long story short, the man was left unrecognizable and Daryl was left bored all over again. 

 

Shaking his head to rid the memory, he takes in the size of the metal gate.  _ ‘Shouldn’t be too hard to climb...’  _ Daryl thinks as he removes his hand from the gate and crouchs down onto his hands and feet, ready to pounce when he is ready.  _ ‘One _ ...’ Daryl narrows his eyes. ‘ _ Two... _ ’ He crouched lower onto the ground.  _ ‘Three _ .’ Daryl launched himself at the gate, plunging his claws into the metal and gritting his teeth. The friction of the metal against his nails sent electrical sensations throughout his body but he ignored it as he started to climb. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be and before he knew it he was over the gate and at his destination. 

 

Daryl smiled at the sight of the houses and how quiet it was. The streets were empty as he walked around. When he happened upon a house, he got a feeling that this was familiar however, vague. Deciding to explore he entered the house like a civilized person, through the open window. 

 

It was quiet and dark, making his senses advanced as he explored the house.  _ ‘Interesting...’   _ He thought as he came upon a slightly opened door. The light was off but the blinds must’ve been open to illuminate the room in such beautiful lighting. Walking in slowly and quietly, he looked around and noticed an object in the middle of the room. Walking over to it, he peered over the edge curiously and was surprised to find that a small human lay awake in the box like object. 

 

The small thing looked up at him but instead of crying out it just looked up at him, curiosity deep within it’s eyes. Daryl rests his elbows onto the rim of the box and smiles his best smile at the small human. The baby looks up at him and smiles happily, making gurgling noises as it reaches out to him. He lowers one of his hands so the baby could play with his fingers, making sure to keep his claws extracted since that seemed to be the very first thing the baby went for. 

 

Seeing the baby play with his fingers stroked another familiar feeling into him, it felt as if he knew this thing but he just couldn’t put a name as to why. It was the same familiar feeling Daryl got when he laid eyes upon the little girl from the camp but he just couldn’t figure out why.  _ ‘Maybe some past life or some shit like that... _ ’ He thought as he let the baby play with his fingers. 

 

Staring at the moon through the window while the baby played with his hand, Daryl couldn’t help but feel at home.


	4. Home Invasion

The sun was shining brightly over Alexandria as the group entered the place. Though the day was beautiful in every way, Rick was still on edge. He was worried about the meeting with Negan and he was worried about how they were going to get enough supplies to satisfy the bastard, he had checked over the supplies they had gathered recently and it didn’t surprise him that the things they had scavenged wouldn’t even begin to meet Negan’s expectations. Rick also had a bad gut feeling that got worse with every step he took further into Alexandria, it was too quiet and the streets were too empty for it to be considered normal. Rick knew that there weren’t a lot of people living in Alexandria but for it to be this quiet was just too suspicious and it sent bad vibes all throughout Rick’s body. At first he thought that Negan had cut their time to scavenge short but even Rick knew that the bastard would be yapping his mouth non-stop about one thing or the other.

 

“Hey Rick!” Came the voice of Gabriel. Rick turned to the voice, seeing Gabriel walking toward him in quick strides, the look on his face didn’t ease Rick’s nerves either.

 

“Hello Gabriel...” The man in question looked from Rick to the group members behind him then back to the leader.

 

“Last night I was on guard duty….” He started, only stopping to recollect his thoughts about what he saw last night was real or not. 

 

“What happened last night while I was gone?” Came the demanding tone and Gabriel internally gulped at how stupid he is about to sound right about now.

 

“Last night while I was keeping guard I saw… well rather heard something…. It was like a faint clinking of metal that proceeded until it stopped suddenly… when I looked through my scope I couldn’t visibly see anything but I could tell that there was  _ something _ out there last night.” Gabriel finished, trying hard to conceive the shiver that threatened his body at the thought of something foreign watching him.

 

“Where?” Was all Rick said, looking at Gabriel with eyes that left no room for games.

 

“The east wing I believe.” Gabriel muttered, moving out the way when Rick started to move toward said area. 

 

Rick took a good look at the gate, only getting more disappointed when he didn’t find a clue to indicate if there was something here last night.

 

“Rick!” The man looked over at Michonne to see her nodding over to something, Had he missed a clue?

 

“What is it?” He asked once he was by her side, she pointed over to what looked like claw marks on the metal.

 

“What the hell is strong enough to...” Rick was dumbfounded, he didn’t have an answer as to why there were deep claw marks embedded in the metal and all this just made his nerves shoot into the sky.

 

“What do you think it is?” He heard Michonne ask as they continued to stare at the embedded claw marks.  

 

“RICK!!!” 

 

**Daryl POV-**

 

This baby was full of adorbs yet disgusting at the same time, how this thing managed to pull that off was beyond me but all I knew was that this baby made me feel calm and at home.

 

I had climbed that stupid nuisance of a gate last night, which astounded me to the core. My claws are not only extractable but can also cut through metal, how cool is that? 

 

Still admiring my personal weapons while the baby played with my other hand, I let out a startled noise when I heard another voice scream ‘Rick’ from the doorway and then the click of something. At first I thought that the human merely spotted him and closed the door on their way out so that I couldn’t escape but something told me that this was far from that case scenario. 

 

I didn’t risk turning around in favor of not startling the human and having to kill them, I wasn’t in a killing mood right now, nor did I make any noise when I heard the human speaking to me.

 

“Who are you?! Turn around!” ‘ _ Well barking orders is more like it’  _ I thought bitterly, no matter how much I really didn’t want to kill today, I felt that resolve slipping away and fading into a more darker mood. 

 

_ I don’t take kindly to humans barking orders at me.  _ My mind spoke but I didn’t move nor speak. I hear more approaching footsteps now that i’m aware that the humans are out and about. The newcomers seem to barge in the room and more clicking as they do so. 

 

_ Silly human beings, always using weapons for protection… when will they realize that bullets are useless against me?  _

 

More humans barge into the room, like seriously do all humans barge into things? Rude if I do say so myself. I refuse to turn around, even when one person nudges my head with their gun. I feel anger course through my veins as I feel them keep their gun there. ‘ _ These fucking pathetic worms...’  _ My inner self-growled deeply, the sound emitting from my throat and filling the room. 

 

“Rick...” So this was Rick huh? Some fucking guts this guy has.

 

“You’re going to turn around nice and slowly, with your hands raised high in the air...” My mind shut out the man’s annoying voice, who the hell does he think he is? Barking orders at me! ‘ _ Well you are the one who barged into this place… this is probably their home and you go intruding it… look who's the rude one? _ ’ My mind says as I ignore whatever the hell else Rick was saying. 

 

I was starting to get vivid flashbacks as the man talked, which meant that I knew him from somewhere. ‘ _ Maybe he was the one who took away your fun?’  _ Anger coursed deep within me, it was boiling and I was seething to the seems. He took away  **my** fun, MY prey and he has the balls to bark orders at me!? 

 

“You’re not going anywhere.” I hear him say and I couldn’t help but smile in return.

 

_ If only I…  _ **_we_ ** _ could have… some  _ **_fun._ ** Maybe I should turn around... 

 

“Rick get away from him.”  _ Ah so i’m still the bad guy? Ironic considering the circumstances. _

 

“Bring me the handcuffs...” 

 

 **“Nobodies handcuffing anybody.”** I decided to speak and I was happy too. My voice was so deep and velvety like silk, it made my chest vibrate. “ **Why… can’t we just have a little** _fun_ **instead?”** I loved speaking, it was awesome how I could feel the fear emitting from their very souls. It was marvelous. 

 

**“Don’t you think so… Rick?”** I slightly turn my head, looking at the man standing behind me from the corner of my eye, right over my shoulder. Their faces were the definition of priceless. 

 

“Wh-who?” I heard Rick stutter over his words and somehow it didn’t sound right but I didn’t care, I was beyond sympathy at this point. I just wanted some fun.

 

**“I’m giving you, all of you a five-minute head start… better start going to your hiding places.”** I wanted to play a game. A game where I can put my heightened senses to good use and pinpoint where the humans have hid and with each human I find, I play with them.

 

“...”  Before anyone else could say anything a gunshot was heard and a few moments later I felt a searing pain shoot right through my left eye.

 

Letting out a disemboweled grunt, I leaned forward, resting my right hand on my bended knee while I nurse my left eye with my left other hand. ‘ _ Oh that fucker!’ _

 

I could feel the flesh and bone start to emerge and stitch itself back together, causing me to scream out due to the immense pain. The pain subsided a few moments later, signaling that my self-healing process has finished and my wound was freshly healed. Chuckling darkly, my mind shut down and I could feel the heat radiating off of me. 

 

**“You’re all dead.”** I deadpanned. I looked over my shoulder fully this time, noticing that the man who had shot me still held the gun up in shock while most of the other humans were already out of the room. 

 

“Da… Daryl?!” Was all the man said before I charged at him, both of us falling out the window behind him. 

 

We rolled around for a bit, guess his instincts kicked in that made him start to fight back, I didn’t care I was just happy that this man wasn’t weak and scared.

 

I stopped the rolling on the ground, me straddling the man with one of my hands on the man’s throat. Rick seemed frozen below me, looking up at me with fear etched in his eyes. I could smell the fear emitting from him, could see it on his face. How his skin paled, his eyes wide and alert and his fast breathing, yeah he’s scared alright. 

 

A smile stretches itself onto my face, real wide. Bringing my hand that wasn’t on Rick’s throat up, clenching my hand into a tight fist. I was ready to bring it down when all of a sudden I feel that same sharp pain only this time it’s more stronger and not just on my left eye, it was the better part of my face.  _ These fucking bastards! _

 

**Rick’s POV-**

 

I didn’t know what to think when Carl came calling my name. I didn’t know why my gut feeling was steering in all the wrong places at how fear and uncertainty filled my son’s voice. Hell, I didn’t know what to think when I saw a dark figure standing above Judith's crib. 

 

I had acted on instinct, raising my python at the stranger's head, going as far as to nudge the other man's head with the end of my gun. I didn’t know who this man was or where he even came from but all I knew was that he was a stranger next to my baby, said baby was playing with the man’s hands. 

 

_ Do humans growl now a days?  _ I had thought to myself when I heard a deep growl come from the man I had nudged with my gun. The baby had stopped playing with the stranger’s hands a while ago, the rest of my family was with me in the room. Carl had his gun raised as well as Abraham and Sasha, everyone else looked tense and ready for action at any minute. 

 

I had told to the man that he was going to turn around slowly with his hands in the air but something told me that ordering this being was the wrong thing to do, if the way I could literally feel the anger emitting from this man was anything to go by.

 

The air went stiff, I felt as if I was suffocating just standing there. My body filled with dread as the man turned around slightly to look at me over his shoulder. The way he did that was just plain creepy and it sent shivers to rack my body. 

 

I asked someone to bring me the handcuffs, that’s when the man started talking, his voice was real deep and smooth but held a sort of edge to it that I couldn’t name yet. He was talking about how nobody was going to handcuff anybody, started mentioning something about playing a game or having some fun all the while that man’s voice had that creepy edge to it. I was so freaked out by this stranger that I unconsciously squeezed my hand, the one holding the python. I didn’t realize that I had shot until I snapped out of my haze and saw the stranger leaning forward, shrieking. 

 

I wasn’t prepared, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the sight that I was given. Daryl was there! He was standing right before my very eyes, his wound gone and chuckling darkly at me. He had a very dead look in his blue eyes, which was a sharp contrast to his freaky Cheshire smile he was giving me. Then came his deep, velvety smooth voice telling me that I along with everyone else was dead in a more deadpanned voice. I wasn’t prepared nor fast enough to dodge Daryl’s pounce, the force behind his attack took me off the ground, throwing us both out the window.

 

Me and Daryl rolled around on the ground before I felt his hand on my throat and his legs straddling my hips. Looking up was all I could really do at this point and I just couldn’t take my eyes away from him. 

 

Having him straddle me brought back a very fond memory, one that I tried to erase when I left him for Michonne.

 

_ Me and Daryl had been hunting, him teaching me but I was too caught up in admiring his toned biceps and shoulders to really care about listening to his words. He was furious when he realized that I hadn’t listened to a thing he said and still being new to me and the group at the farm, he went to attack me, throwing his crossbow straight at my chest.  _

 

_ We had scuffled around on the ground for a bit, but it ended with me below him, his legs around my hips and a hand on my throat. I had to admit, it was a very useful tactic when you wanted to get someone to sit still and I was turned on by the intense fury in those blue diamond eyes. _

 

_ That day had been the first of many moves I made on him. After that kiss I kept letting my hand slip downward to his lower back, placing a strand of long hair behind his ear or even bopping him on his cute nose or whispering in his ear how much I wanted him. I thought I would be on top since he seemed like the type to be shy in bed but holy hell was I wrong.  _

 

_ Daryl Dixon was a fucking sex god in the bedroom.   _

 

Seeing the same man that I had loved on top of me, ready to bring his clenched fist down on my face just made my heart clench in a painful way. I knew that he had no intention of making this fast and painless, hell the look in his eyes showed nothing but boredom. I couldn’t read him and that scared the shit out of me, sure Daryl had been hard to read when he was… human but I knew what to look for when he was isolating himself and bottling his emotions up. Now though, I couldn’t find any hint of emotion on Daryl’s face or in his eyes. That’s what creeped me out the most, why did he look so bored? 

 

He was going to kill me, I was sure of it. Any moment now Daryl was going to bring down his hand and smash my head in. Daryl’s fist was shaking with the amount of power he was consuming in his hand, the veins were popping out and I could see how Daryl’s shoulders tensed with the power he was holding but the bastard still held a bored expression as he looked down at me with his blue soulless eyes. 

 

I couldn’t take my eyes off of Daryl and his fist, I was sure that it was going to bring it down on my face any minute now. I never got to tell Michonne how grateful I am for her care and love she shows my kids, how grateful I am to all of my family but what I will regret most… is hurting this beautiful man on top of me. He gave me nothing but respect and support, he was my anchor when I needed the strength to continue. Daryl gave me the love I needed to know that I was still human and I had hurt him, broke him and he didn’t say a thing of complaint in return. Not telling Daryl that I loved him back and not showing him the love he deserved would be my only regret.

 

Daryl seemed to grow angry in a blink of an eye and was about to bring his hand down finally, making me flinch and shut my eyes. The blow didn’t come however, and when I opened my eyes I saw Daryl a few feet away from me, holding his face and blood gushing out of the wound. I saw Michonne standing next to me, her sword had the blood of Daryl on it and my eyes widened.  _ This wasn’t going to end well. _

 

“ **You’re all dead! All of you!** ” Came Daryl’s angered voice. He was looking straight at Michonne, the wound seeming to have healed. I froze on the spot, I didn’t know what to do at this point. What if I get up and he charges at Michonne? There would be no saving her, Daryl was too fast, too strong to be stopped. But what if I stay where I am and he still charges at Michonne? Hell, What if Daryl kills her then comes after everybody else? 

 

“ **Nothing can save you now.** ” I heard him say. He was smiling a very creepy smile if you ask me. It didn’t fail to send shivers crawling down my spine. How can someone smile like that but still have a very bored look on their face? 

 

“ **One...** ” I see his sharp teeth.

 

“ **... Two...** ” I notice how long his claws are. Did he always have claws?

 

“ **Three.** ” And Daryl was zooming toward Michonne. She just stood there in shock and I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could. I had dropped my gun on the ground somewhere when Daryl pounced on me so I didn’t have anything to help Michonne out with. I look over to my side and see Carl already shooting at Daryl, who at this point is halfway over to Michonne.

 

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!!!” I take my sons gun and start shooting at Daryl, the others seem to snap into action and start shooting their guns at Daryl but the man wasn’t stopping. The bullets flew right through him and he didn’t seem fazed by the amount of metal shooting through his body.

 

“ **Oh? And what are you going to do about it?** ” He asks in a sickening voice. I growl and start running after him but it was too late. I was too late.

 

“ **You’re too late Rick. Always were a coward, should’ve listened to… what’s his face? Oh Shane… ya know the guy you and your son murdered? Yeah him. He was right all along and I was just blind to see it… causing me my own damn life for you filthy pigs and for what? To get shot at!** ” Daryl says as he plunges his long claws into Michonne’s chest, blood splattered and I hear Michonne stutter out a breath.

 

“ **You think you’re all so strong and mighty but you’re nothing but greedy cockroaches taking everything and trying to own everything, well here's a reality check Rick.** ” Daryl extracts his claws from Michonne’s chest taking her heart out, letting her fall to the floor harshly. She lands on the ground with a loud thud and Daryl chuckles.

 

“ **There’s a new world order ahead, one that doesn’t need any of this bullshit.** ” Daryl looks at me and smirks, but it disappears when he starts to walk away.

 

**“... and I’ll see fit that not one of you survive long enough to see it.”** Daryl continues to walk toward the entrance to Alexandria, stopping only to look at me directly over his shoulder. “ **Until next time.** ” With that Daryl drops Michonne’s heart onto the floor and disappears from my sight, having taken a left turn one he was outside of this place. I look at Michonne, letting out a choked sob. 

 

_ Why?  _


	5. Loss of a comrade, a friend, a beloved

It was raining hard that night. The rain drops thick with sorrow and relentless as they collided with anything they could.  There was a small group of people gathered around a freshly dug grave, in it laid a beloved comrade and trustworthy friend to all. Father Gabriel stood in front of the group, saying words of prayer for the fallen warrior.

 

“Lord, at the moment nothing seems to be able to help the loss we feel.

Our heart is broken and our spirit mourns.

All I know is that Your grace is sufficient.

This day, this hour

Moment by moment

We choose to lean on You,

For when we are at our weakest, Your strength is strongest.

We pour out our grief to You

And praise You that on one glorious day

When all suffering is extinguished and love has conquered

We shall walk together again.“ The people around him seem to agree with a small nod and fresh tears falling down their cheeks.

 

“Rest in peace Michonne.” With that said the group started to disappear. Abraham and Sasha went home first, Aaron and Eric went home after that and soon most of the Alexandrians were gone, leaving behind Glenn, Maggie, Carl, Carol, Gabriel and Rick.

 

“I’ll leave you all some privacy.”

 

“Thank you.” Carl mumbles as Gabriel nods and walks away with his bible.

 

Carl knew that his father was in a storm of emotions, he was feeling conflicted as well but he hoped that his father won’t let this interfere with his plans and leadership.

 

The rain continued on, soaking a dark figured perched on the tree above the grave of Michonne.

 

**Third person POV-**

 

Daryl looked down at the gathering group. There was a good number of them, some crying and some kept their heads down as a man dressing in black resited some words from the book he was holding.

 

The rain seeped through his clothes, his wounds had healed a long time ago but the dried blood had stuck to his skin and annoyed him to no end. Needless to say he was thankful of the rain.

 

Daryl continued to stare at the humans shedding tears for the woman he had killed. _She just wasn’t strong enough, they’re all weak!_ He thought angrily as his eyes landed on Rick. He couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across his features at the man's obvious pain. Rick had a solemn look upon his features as the man looked upon his lover’s grave.  Rick seemed to be deep in thought and Daryl growled lowly, _why are they crying over a pathetic excuse of a human?!_

After a few moments of silence, the people that surrounded the grave left and those who stood were the Asian, the asian’s woman, the kid and Rick. Seeing those few people struck a faint feeling of familiarity to course through him and his eyes widened, his smile disappeared a he was thrown in another flashback.

 

_“Daryl…. You helped me when I was in doubt, protected me when I was weak… protected my family when I wasn’t there… gave us food when times were tougher... and even though I never said it enough…”  He saw as the group of the same people stand over a poorly made grave however, he couldn’t see who was buried._

 

_“Thank you for everything you’ve done. You were like a brother to me and… I will never forget you and I am glad that I was given the chance to meet such an amazing person like you…” He knew that Rick was the one speaking. He saw how Rick had a similar solemn look on his face though Daryl knew that there was something different, something like a deeper meaning._

 

_“...even though times were tough and it seemed like we were never going to get out of it you stayed strong for us, gave us the support and hope we needed to live, gave us the will to keep going, to keep surviving and… I will always…. Always love you Daryl…” They Knew him! But but how?_

 

Daryl came out of his stupor, dumbfounded at the information he gained from his flashback. He had no recent memories with these people yet they knew him… _Fuck it all to hell!_

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the leader and jumped to the ground. Landing silently as possible he stood up straight from his crouched position after making sure nothing was in his range of territory. Noting that there were a few walkers and seemed to be heading in this direction in particular. Growling lowly Daryl headed to that direction the walkers were currently in. He needed an outlet, some blood needed to be shed and if that blood came in the form of a blackish goo it would do… for now.

 

After a few minutes of zooming through the wet bushes and twigs, he heard the tell tale snarling of the stupid decaying creatures. Not wasting anytime for the Walkers to notice him, Daryl plunged his claws into the side of one of the walkers heads, pulling back his hand along with the creature's head. The others seemed to notice him after that and he smirked. Dodging when one went for the ultimate grab technique, Daryl threw up his right fist, performing  fatal uppercut. Another one came stumbling toward him from his left and Daryl swiped out his left leg, effectively taking out the Walker's legs from under it. Once the walker was down Daryl lifted up his right leg and brought his foot down over the walker’s head, smashing it into bits and covering his foot in black goo.

 

Daryl got rid of the others fairly quickly after the first three. At the end of it he was full of blackish goo for blood and mud. The rain felt amazing and did wonders to his heated skin, damping his hair and washing his anger away.

 

The need for bloodshed slowly slipped from his grasp as the rain continued its relentless assault on his body. It was relaxing in the way the forest was so peacefully quiet and nothing but rain tapping on the ground could be heard.

 

 **“It’s a shame that this doesn’t happen often...”** Daryl mumbled as he continued to bask in the shower of rain.

 

His pleasure and peace was short lived however, when he heard heavy footsteps and the sound of twigs snapping under the weight of a vehicle coming closer. The once peaceful quiet atmosphere shattered to noise human activity and his anger returned to his body just as quickly as it had been washed away.  

 

“ **Fucking humans.** ” Daryl muttered as he stepped over the corpses that laid scattered on the ground. He took his place on the highest tree branch, perched above and out of sight if the humans were to pass by his direction.

 

Sure enough, a beat up truck came into his view. The car slowed down and after a few moments the doors opened and three men stepped out. One man was slightly overweight, didnt have much muscle to him. He had brownish hair that was messy and curly, brown eyes and held a shotgun in his hands. The second man was a lot more buff, strong around the shoulders. He had straight dark brown locks that reached past his nape with brown eyes as well, holding a magnum with an AK-47 straped to his back. The last one was more lanky in muscle mass and not much fat on him either. He looked more like a person who values intelligence over fighting. He couldnt much older than a teen or young adult with short blackish hair and blue eyes. _'Probably dyed it before now..._ ' Daryl thought to himself as he continued to study the men below him inspect his latest victim.

"Who do you think could of this?" The fat one asked, looking at the one beside him. They were studying one of the walkers when the teen spoke up.

"Maybe we should just get out of here guys..."

"Why you scared?" The fat man asks as he nudges the corpse with the butt of his gun.

"N-no it just doesnt seem right is all..."

"Wussy!"

"Shut up and leave my brother alone asshole." Daryl looks over at the more buff one, noticing the aggrivation in his eyes as the man looked at the other. The fat one shut up at the look he was getting and adverted his gaze back to the corpse. _'Who's the wuss now?'_ Daryl smirked in amusement.

"I want to know who could have done this because it damn sure ain't no human that did this?" The oldest looking one stated as he bent down to inspect another corpse. The teen just shuddered, fear visibly raking its claws over his bones as he stayed put next to the car.

"Just... saying that it dont feel right around here is all..." The teen muttered, the others gave no indication that they heard him but Daryl did and he smiled.

"Just who in the hell..."

"I may have an idea on who did this."The three males turned to the new voice, Daryl taking his gaze off the teen slowly to look at the exact direction the voice came from. He knew exactly who it was that spoke and his grin widened to an almost pain width.

"Mind showing yourself man?" The buff man continued to look around the area, his gaze searching. A few moments of silence passed by before Rick stepped out from behind a tree, hands in his pockets and grim look on his race. Daryls grin widened even more, the skin on his lips ripping to accomplish the stretch.

"Names Rick." The three males look at Rick, seeming to study him as he just stood there studying them.

"You said you had an idea of who did this?" They watch Rick nod before the eldest one spoke again.

"Well mind sharing?" Rick continued to study the leader before shrugging his shoulders.

"Dont have to." He looked up, straight at Daryl as the others seemed surprised at his answer. The leader didn't say anything just followed the strange man's gaze, jumping in surprise and alarm as he spotted the dark silhouette perched on the tree limb.

"Who... wh... what is that!?" Daryl just chuckled darkly. 

"That is going to be your death if you dont get out of here soon." Rick said as he continued to look at Daryl. Before anyone could make a move Daryl jumped from the branch, flipping in the air once before landing on the hood of the car. The teen jumping back, landing on his ass as he scooted away.

" **No one is going anywhere... I have..."** Daryl cut himself off with a gasp as a body tackled him to the ground, both landing with a grunt.

"Get out of here!" Rick called out to the others as he struggled to keep Daryl pinned.

"But what about you man?" The leader asked as the other two filed into the car.

"Dont worry about me just go!" With that the leader climbed into the car, backing up and driving away just as Rick was kicked back. His breath left him as he slid across the ground, laying there weakly.

" **Oh thats just precious**." Rick lifted his head slowly to meet the eyes of the devil himself, gasping once Daryls fist connected with his stomach.

Rick just lay there, head hanging back as his upper body slightly lifted as Daryl clutched the front of his shirt. It was silent between the two, nothing but the rain lightly tapping against the earth were heard. Finally Rick lifted his head again to look at this monster he's come to know. Daryl was just studying him when suddenly he let go of his shirt, letting Rick fall to the ground as he walked away.

"Not going to kill me?" Rick asked confused. It was silent before Daryl spoke again.

" **No, I'm not going to kill you**."

"..."

" **You are ready to die... you crave it now more than ever**." Daryl kept his back to Rick, his voice void of emotion as he continued to speak.

" **You are waiting for it, craving the cold hands of death to grip your very soul... to feel the darkness seep into you and harden... so that you lay there in peaceful slumber never to wake again**." Daryl looked at Rick from over his shoulder, chuckling at the slight fear and confusion lay beneath his eyes.

" **So... I'll wait until you dont want that... when everything is safe and sound again before swooping in and pulling you into deaths clutches.** " Rick shivered in fear as he watched Daryl. 

" **When everything is going right and you are all happy... will I snuff out your light and anyone else who gets in the way**." Daryl turn to Rick this time, flashing him a smile of sharp teeth.

" **Besides..."** Daryl pauses, turning back to the forest infront of him before continuing.

" **Wheres the fun in it if the prey just lays there... accepting their death?"** This was followed by a soft but dark chuckle. Daryl sighed after awhile of silence. He started to walk away when he heard Rick's weak, broken voice reached his ears. He smirked as he listen.

"She didn't deserve to die..." A chuckle escaped him at those words, oh how ironic it was.

" **She did to me**." Daryl said after a moment of silence. He started to walk again as Rick's sobs reached his ears.

" **You might wanna head home before you become walker chow.** " With that Daryl disappeared behind the trees, leaving Rick to sob in the rain.


	6. A New Turn Of Events

**Daryl's pov,**

I was strolling through the open streets of some abandoned neighborhood, my mind in a frenzy of thoughts and questions. I don't know why but after that encounter with Rick, an onslaught of memories... feelings, I shuddered a little at the mere thought of that, came upon me as I walked away from him. I can't explain what I saw... I had no words to describe the images that filled my mind as I walked away. I didn't want those memories to enter my mind again, I wanted them to disappear... never to be seen again.

I stopped mid stride when I heard some voices... behind me. I looked over my shoulder slightly to get a better look at who had even dared to try and sneak up on me. Two figures stood there, looking as if they had just spotted me in the middle of the street. I noted that the slighter shorter figure was the same guy from before. My eyes narrowed, the one who chased after me with the asian.

"Stay back." The long haired guy spoke to the slightly taller male who looked more scared than the smaller one. 

" _Hmm_?" I hummed in thought, this guy was in some of the images that I saw in my mind.

"What do you want Daryl?" The long haired male spoke in a cold tone which made me amused. I turned my head away from him, walking away from the two worthless people behind me. I really wasn't in the mood right now, I wanted to be left alone.

"Hey don't walk away from me!" I ignored him, continuing to walk away from the overly aggitated male. I heard his feet scruffle against the pavement as he headed after me.

"Hey I'm talking to you!" Thoughts of wanting to be left alone dissolved from my mind once I felt his hand grab my right shoulder. I let my foot touch the cement, my shoulders tense and my amusement gone. After a few minutes pass, I let my gaze fall from a mangled body in the middle of the street to the imbicles hand still on my fucking shoulder.

"Daryl...?" I continued to stare at his hand. It wasn't rough, almost as if it were resting there... so gently... not harmful or... threateningly...

"Dar..."

" **GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OF ME!"** I yelled as I swiftly turned around. I was pissed the hell off! I could feel the itch to shed blood course through my body, burning all rational thoughts to ash.

"Daryl I-WAIT DON'T!!!" Jesus had fallen on his ass when I had turned around, scooting away as he held a hand out.

" **You think that you can just touch me and expect everything to be okay?"** I asked, slowly stalking forward to my prey.

"Wait Dar..."

" **Think that I won't kill you? I don't know who you think you are but if you want a reality check I'd be gla...** " I was cut of by the click of a gun. I looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at my head, the man behind it was the scared man. 

"Spencer?... stop it put the gun down!" So this guy was named Spencer? How... pathetic.

"No! I have to do this... my mother wouldn't want me to just stand by as my friend got killed! I have to do thi..." I had grown annoyed with this man's speech so I just rushed toward him and ripped his head open by his mouth, grabbing his jaw with one hand and the other was placed inside his mouth before I ripped it apart. His blood splattered my face as his body dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

I returned my gaze to the long haired male who was standing by now, in some sort of stance as he glared at me.

" **Ooh... was that your lover**?" He growl at my question before he charged at me, bringing his fist back. I caught his fist inches from my face, looking at his shocked expression with my bored one. I pushed him back roughly, making him stumble a bit before he balanced himself again.

"He will be the last person you ever kill!" I smiled widely at his words, this victim has some spunk I'll give him that but it will never be enough.

" **So you wanna play huh? Alright show me what you got."** With that he charged toward me again, bringing out his left leg forward this time, I lifted my left arm at the last second. We met with a bang as I blocked his move and suddenly we were in a full on fight. He threw kicks, knees, elbows, and punches while I blocked or dodged all of them effortlessly. I chuckled as he tried to knee my gut while my arms held his fists but I jumped back and landed gracefully on my feet.

This new power was amazing! I could see his every move before he even had time to perform it... like everything was in slow motion except me! Man this was exhilerating. I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw him thrust his right leg out again, it was coming toward my face and instead of blocking it, I did a 360 turn to my left before bringing my right knee to his gut. He flew back, landing roughly on the pavement while clutching his stomach. A chuckle escaped me at his obvious pain.

" **Hmm you put up a big show of determination**..." I paused as I crouched down to his level. "You're nothing but a weakling that can't make any difference in his world." I looked into his eyes with my bored ones, smirking at his fear.

"W-What happened t-to you? This wasn't... t-the Daryl I.... remember..." He choked out. I shaked my head at his stupidity.

"That Daryl died a few days ago if you don't remember. I was born from the darkness he put me in." I stated in a monotonous voice. He looked at me in shock and fear.

"Negan?"

" **So that is his name huh?"** I smiled widely. **"It's going to be fun ripping him apart limp by limb... but first..."** I lifted my clawed hand to his chest, my claws hovering above the place where his heart is. Right when I was going to plunge my hand into his flesh he reached out and grabbed my hand, cutting himself with my claws. I looked at him in surprise before growling and pushing down on his skin only to stop once again at his shout of fear. Why am I stopping for this fool?

"Wait please... I can help you get to Negan... I can help you kill him..."

**"I don't need your help."**

"Then you can help me... protect my home from him..."

**"I don't care if you or your home dies."**

"Then..." He seemed to have run out of excuses as he just stared at me. I growled again.

"Please Daryl... I know there's still good in you." I snarled before slowly slipping my claws into his flesh, watching him wince and close his eyes. This bastard was ready to die he... has given up!

" **Tsk you humans make me sick**!" His eyes pop open when I remove my claws from him and move away from him completely.

"Wha...?"

" **You had given up... was ready to die and I hate that. I'll let you live until you are happy, when everything around you is going well then... and only then will I kill you**." I stated as I walked away.

"Just... think about what I asked?" I heard him mutter as I stalked away, I looked over my shoulder to see that he had risen to his feet and was looking at me with hopeful eyes while he held his stomach. I glared at him before looking forward again.

" **Whatever**." As I walked away I couldn't help but realize that this had not gone the way I had originally thought it would. This whole shit that just happened took an unexpected turn and I don't know if it was for the best or the worst at the moment. I never thought that I would have ended up killing Spencer and fighting the long haired male, I thought that they would have left me alone because of the danger I could bring but they didn't, they just stood there.

Am I... am I feeling... regret? Guilt for killing Spencer? I thought about it as I rounded a corner. Inpossible! I haven't felt an pint of guilt since I awoke and started killing people, people that I seem to have memories of knowing them. There is no possible chance of me feeling guilt over the death of a mere stranger!

Huffing angrily, I continue to walk on the street. It was empty and silent... for it being the end of the world it sure as hell quiet... heh I could hear a pin drop miles away with how eeirly quiet it is. I liked it. The silence can promise all sorts of things, good and bad. I hadn't had one minute of this peaceful silence since I had awaken within a pile of leaves covering my body so this was actually nice.

I stopped by a store that seemed to have been looted of every possible supplies... well just clothing supplies I guess... if that's a thing. I looked down at my attire, noticing how tattered my boots, pants and vest were. The stench of blood filled my nose when I took a big intake of air, looking back at the clothing store again after a few moments. I shrugged my shoulders and decided to go in because why not? I could use a new set of clothing and maybe if I removed this vest these people would stop mistaking me for this 'goodhearted Daryl' person as they keep doing.

_You woke up in this vest idiot, of course You're daryl... just not the one they know._

I squinted in confusion ast my consious words. "That doesn't even make sense." I mutter to myself as I enter the store.

_How would you know? You're a dumbass._

"Oh would you shut up? I'm busy over here." I chuckled to myself, now my own mind is insulting me. Shaking my head I start searching for clothes on the right side of the store, making my way to the left once Im done and couldn't find anything for male use. Surprisingly I didn't encounter any walkers during my search and was a bit putoff that I couldn't find anything to change these clothes. I really wanted to change out of these these old garbs, I mean... I could walk around naked but... that would be inappropriate for children and I really didn't want to do that anyways. Slumping my shoulders in disappointment, I started to make my way toward the back exit since it was the closest door but something caught my eye. Another door to be exact.

I walked toward the door, reading the words on the sticker.

" **Storage**?" Did I just find a jackpot? The door seemed to be locked from the inside and Im guessing that the key is somewhere with the store owner so there was only one option left. Using one of my claws, I inserted my claw into the key hole. Very slowly wiggling my finger so that I could onlock it. after a few minutes passed I heard a click and stood up straight.  Listening for any type of noise and hearing none, I opened the door slowly.

Boxes upon boxes were stacked up at the end of the room, labeled to which clothing it held inside. Walking up an starting my search, after closing the door and turning on the light to see that it worked, on the left side of the room. I threw boxes labeled as bras, panties, dresses etc until a box labeled 'gothic men' caught my eye. Goth? sounded interesting.

I picked up the rectangular box and placing the thing on the floor, I used my claw to rip open the tape and opened the tabs. I striped my dirty garbs off before starting my search. I found black skinny jeans with small rips at the thighs and below the knee for design. I picked up a belt with a shiny metal skull as the buckle and silver colored spikes on the leather part. I left the belt open as I pulled on a black tank top with miniture rips at the ribcage area. I tucked in the tanktop before zipping up my jeans and fixing the belt to a decent tightness. Happy with my new attire I went further into the room in search of shoes, grabbing a box that stated combat boots, black and a size 8. I took the boot out and examined it, leather with buckles on each side and reach passed my ankles. I tried them on and it was a perfect fit, tucking in the ends of the pants into the boots before standing. The boots had a bit of a heal but not enough that it would affect my stealth.

I was heading toward the entrance when I looked back at the gothic box. I went over to it and started searching in it again. I found a pair of black fingerless gloves that reach my elbows with the end alined with spikes. I pulled them on before closing the box and heading out the door. I closed the storage door before making my way toward the back exit. I was pleased with my new attire and as I ran my fingers through my matted hair, my claws acting as a brush. I left the store, still brushing my hair.

"Well look what we have here." My peace was once again broken by a deep voice. I looked up to see a group of seven to eight armed men looking down at me. I let my hands fall to my sides while my peaceful expression turned to that of a bored one.

"About to go rock on buddy?" The man, seemingly the leader, pumped his fist in the air mockingly. 

" **At least I look some what decent, you on the other hand... not so much**." I smirked at the glare I got from him. Seriously every human I've come in contact with wanted nothing but trouble and thought they were invinceble.

"Oh so you have a mouth on ya huh?"

" **Well duh, how else would I be able to talk**?" I asked confused, do these humans have a brain?

"Huh...well boys I think we're going to have to teach this brat a lesson." There was a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'lets get em' around the group. They climbed down the ladder at the side of the building before filing out infront of me with their guns pointed at me.

" **Trust me, there is no 'lesson' you can 'teach' me that will be worth knowing. I'm feeling quite generous... at the moment... so please take your pathetic lives somewhere else**." I wave my hand dismissively before I cross my arms over my chest, looking at them with emotionless eyes and a frown.

"Guess we're gonna have find that out now won't we?" The leader asked me, glaring at me as his minions steadied their aim on me, ignoring my offer. 'People these days' I thought as I smiled a wide chesire smile, showing my sharp teeth.

" **Guess so**." Was all I said before I charged forward, a new power coursing through my veins as I fought.

**Rick pov,**

"Is that all that's left?" I asked.

"Yeah... I think we gathered everything useful in this part of town." Glenn replied as he placed the last box of goods in the trunk of the van. I nodded as he walked away, sighing at the sight of so little number of boxes. Negan gave us a week and its only been three days of scavenging, at this rate we're going to have to give up a little more than half to satisfy him.

"Rick!" I looked up to see Glenn and Carl waving me over, looks like they found something... hopefuly its useful. I closed the trunk door before hurrying over to them, as I got closer I noticed the fear in both of their eyes which made a sickening feeling crawl up into my gut.

"What is it gu..." I wasn't able to finish however, because my son placed his hand over my mouth while using his other hand to point to his right... around the corner. Glenn moved so that I could press myself against the side of the building. I was about to peer around the corner but something... someone caught my eye.

Jesus was pressed up against the side of the building across from us, giving me some sort of silent gesture with his hands that I wasn't familiare with. I nodded before focusing on my attention on my surroundings. I was about to peer over the corner but this time I was stopped by a voice.

" **Is this a game of hide 'n' seek? Because if it was I wasn't aware untill now**." His deep voice sounded so close that it made me jump back, bumping into Glenn in the process. We both fell on our ass while my son stayed put with his gun aimed at Daryl. I heard footsteps coming closer and I assumed that it was Jesus but I didn't look over, I kept my eyes on Daryl the whole time instead. I noticed that he was leaning up against the wall casually, looking at us with no emotion at all. All I could think was _'We're screwed.'_

 

_To be continued in part 2_


	7. Old Threats Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation to last chapter.

**Daryl's pov,**

**"I really think you should reconsider my offer."**

"Why you scared to get your ass beat punk?" The man infront of me asked as he took off his shirt and readied his fists. I raised an eyebrow at him, why did he remove his shirt?

 **"I'm hardly going to be the one getting my 'ass beat' here but I don't want to put a wrench in your overgrown ego infront of your little minions. Although..."** I paused as I heard some shuffling off to my right. After a moment I refocused on the idiot infront of me, who was looking as red as a tomatoe in anger. " **They won't be alive long enough to spread the word of your pathetic death."** I chuckled darkly at the fearful looks that etched onto the others faces.

"Oh why you... ILL END YOU!" I smiled at him as he charged at me. I lifted my hand at lighting speed, stopping his punch with no effort and then I was blocking all of his punches and kicks. After a few minutes he started to get tired, I could tell by his heavy breathing and how his speed was slowing down quickly. It was when he was about to throw another punch that I decided to take the opening. I grabbed his right wrist with his fist inches from my face before thrusting my left hand in through his chest, my hand emerging from his back with his heart clenched in my fist.

" **K.O.** " I smiled as I watched the life drain from his eyes. Soon his corpse was hanging from my arm, the others looking shocked and scared.

"There's no way he could have... survived that!" One spoke up as I pulled out my hand from the body, letting the corpse fall with a thud at my feet. I squashed the organ in my hand while looking at the others infront of me.

" **Your leader was weak and a damn fool... you all followed him but were blinded by the fact that he was leading you all to your deaths and now..."** I spread my arms out, looking at each human infront of me as I smiled nice and wide. **"Its time to prove that."** The others started to back up as I approached, a smirk on my face as I charged at them.

**Time skip to you by the Author...**

" **Ah dammit**..." I mutter to myself as I gaze upon my newly found gloves, which were soaked in blood and had pieces of flesh and meat that I tried in vain to get off... at least my awesome boots were looking better than my gloves.

 **"Shouldn't have..."** I pause when the scruffiling returns, this time much more quieter than the last few times I've heard it. **"... It's whatever**." I mutter on about the gloves, pretending to be oblivious to the creatures making those noises.

" **Humans**." I scoff at the whispers. Thanks to my enhanced senses I can tell by the scents that they are human and thanks to my hearing... I guess Rick came back for another round.

" **When will he ever learn**?" I mumble as I rake my gaze over to the building where Rick is hiding behind. I swear these people really need to learn stealth.

I walk over to the building, casually leaning on it as I keep my gaze on Rick. He seemed to be oblivious to my presence and looking off toward the other long haired male who I let live earlier. I look over to see that he was actually the only one that noticed me and that... that did weird things for my heart. I looked away quickly to see that Rick still was oblivious to me. I was starting to think they were playing a little game called hide and seek and I didn't think it was fair that I wasn't notified of this.

 **"Is this a game of hide 'n' seek that I wasn't aware of?"** I asked but it seemed my question had brought attention to my presence which made Rick and his two companions jump back. Rick collided with the asian and the kid skidded back while raising his gun to me. At that I felt my thirst to see this kids blood paint the cement grow but I ignored it for now.

The long haired male was beside me in an instant, looking torn between somethings I didn't know off. I had to warn the kid that shooting me would only piss me off and it would end badly for him and his friends. He reluctantly put the gun away and I reluctantly forced my rage down my throat. I watched the humans talk as they eventually got into the topic of Negan.

"Yeah... he should be stopping by soon. I don't think we have enough to satisfy him..." Rick spoke with a sorrow filled tone. I couldn't help but be curious as to why he looked so sad.

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine."

"How can you be so sure Paul?" So thats his name huh?

"Because we have Daryl here to help us out." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Me, as well as the others, looked at him like he was crazy... I glared at him more than anything. Here this idiot goes again suggesting that I help him, why couldn't this stupid brat leave him alone!

"Because you're family Daryl... no matter how cruel and dangerous you are now... it was always a part of you and all you needed was a push, very painful push might I add, to finally let it out." I looked at him, was this guy crazy? Did he inhale too much smoke to become the air head he's acting like right now?

"Pual... I know you had feelin..." The asian strarted but was cut off by... Rick himself.

"He's right Glenn."

"But..."

"We knew that Daryl was dangerous... always had been since we met him in the woods. He just kept this part of himself locked down to ensure our safety but now... its like he's inverted with his personality." I just scoffed at the nonsense brewing on infront of me.

"I agree dad... Daryl always had a murderous aura about him. It was the reason why Shane never got to close because he knew that Daryl wouldn't hesitate to attack... especially someone he didn't like."

"Exactly why we are going to bring Daryl to the Hilltops, Negan is due to arrive there soon before he heads to you Rick. If Daryl is there when Negan arrives..."

"It'll be the end of Negan." Glenn finished. I threw my hands up in the air so suddenly that all four of them flinched back.

" **You humans seem to be oblivious to the fact that I'm RIGHT here! I will not be helping some pathetic humans kill another human, what do you think this is... a charity case or some shit?"** I crossed my arms, beyond annoyed.

"Daryl think about it..." Paul stepped infront of me, he even dared to grab my chin, although gently, and forced me to look at him. " You help us, you get Negan and then... if you want to leave you can." He looked sad at that last part and I didn't know why but I knew he wasn't done yet so I kept quiet... which was bizarre.

"Please Daryl"  He moved his other hand so that his palm rested on my cheek, his hand grabbing my chin doing the same. Lord he is so fucking gentle... its doing weird shit to my heart! "Please help us, we need... I need you Daryl." I looked at him wide eyed, the others doing the same except with a smile. Why are they fucking smiling for? Do they... do they think this is cute!?

"I know you can find it in you to help." I watched in horror as Paul leaned close and pecked my at the corner of my mouth, right where my canines peeked out from my lips. I stumbled back, out of his gentle hold as my hand raised up to touch the spot he kissed me at. My mind screamed at me that I was an idiot for letting my guard down but my heart... pumped with fevor. The skin on my mouth tingled and suddenly I felt empty without his hold on me... I felt cold. I shaked my head to rid my brain of those thoughts, looking up to see that Paul, Glenn and the kid was smiling like idiots while Rick looked... jealous? The fuck?

"Daryl..." Paul started but I cut him off by appearing infront of him so fast the others were still looking at my previous spot for a minute. Paul looked up at me wide eyed but there wasnt a trace of fear in his eyes.

" **Don't you ever, and I mean ever, touch me like that again**." I bared my sharp teeth for emphasis but he looked at me... lovingly.

"I know you're not going to hurt me Daryl." I narrowed my eyes dangerously, stepping a little closer so that our foreheads were touching.

" **Ya think so huh?"**

"I know so hun." I growled lowly, watching the shivers it sent Paul. they werent ones of fear but... I liked that it wasnt fear... it was something else.

We stayed like that, me glaring daggers into Pauls soul and him staring into my eyes lovingly. He had no fear of me... he wasn't scared yet he knew I could slice his neck off in a of and eye but he just stood there looking at me. The others watched the exchange warily, well... except Rick, he just looked at our surroundings with a pissed off face.

After a few minutes pass with just me and Paul staring at each other and the others watching before I growl loudly and push Paul to the floor. He seems to like it and lets a laugh out from his juicy lips... wait what?

 **"You all should get going before you become a hit T.V. show of humans being ripped apart by a 50 plus horde**." Thats gets them moving fast. They file into the van not too far away from me before Paul realizes I'm not following.

"Daryl come on!"

" **You go ahead, I'll catch up... I need to blow off some steam first."** I said darkly before walking casually to the building I was leaning on earlier.

"You know... theres more better ways of doing that!" I look at him but before he could elaborate, he is pulled into the car. The van drives away and soon their out of sight. I could hear the snarls edging closer and I smirk. _This is going to be fun_.

**Jesus pov,**

I let out a chuckle as we drive further away from Daryl. Glenn looks at me from the rear veiw mirror, giving me a big smile before looking back at the road.

"What you did back there was AWESOME!" Carl nudges me with his elbow and I could only smile a goofy smile.

"If only we could have stayed and watch him kill all those walkers."

"Don't worry, you'll have more chances soon." He looks at me with understanding before returning this attention looking out the window.

"Man... you have some serious kinks Paul." Glenn chuckles. I expected Rick to interven when I had kissed Daryl but he didn't react, aside from getting jealous. He ruined his chances when he left Daryl for Michonne, there was no fixing that.

"I know." Was all I said. My heart was beating like crazy and my mind was still hazy with lust from having Daryl so close. I could only smile as we drove away.

_This is going to be fun._

 


	8. Hell Breaks Loose

Daryl watched from his spot on the roof, the mindless predators stumble their way across the street, hoping that anything would come running their way and become their next meal. There was about 40 of them, he knew that they weren’t that much of a threat at least to him. 

 

_‘This is going to be fun.’_

 

With that thought in mind Daryl jumped down from his spot on the roof, landing on his feet on the ground and catching the attention of some walkers. He smirked as they stumbled his way, snapping their barely intact teeth and jaws at him, snarling with hunger. He swiped his left hand at the first two closest ones before continuing to mangle the other ones. The rest of the horde was on his by now, all hungry for his fresh flesh and he smiled and wide toothy smile. He was having a blast, just kicking heads in, swiping claws and tearing flesh, ripping apart limbs and crushing skulls. Unfortunately his fun was cut short when he realized that the horde was gone, the bodies of the dead lay at his wake un-moving and there went his fun and entertainment for the day. 

 

“ **Pathetic shits! Can’t last even an hour against me! Ugh what does a guy have to do to get decent fun around here!** ” He yelled out at the deceased walkers. He got no answer and he didn’t expect on as he turned around and headed in the direction where Jesus and the others went. Daryl sighed, looking at the car’s tire tracks and following that direct, picking up into a full blown run. The sound of his feet thudding against the ground loud in his ears and in the atmosphere. He was amazed by his speed and he smirked once again as he saw his target up ahead on the street.

 

**Jesus Pov,**

  
  


I was peacefully looking out the window with Carl doing the same thing to my left, looking at the sky as Glenn drove to Hilltop and Rick stared ahead, looking to be deep in thought about something. It was then that I realized the thumping sounds in the sir, they were loud and sounded like thunder in a bad rain storm. I looked to Carl, who looked at me with the same expression on his face. Glenn was the first to speak as Rick began to scan the moving scenery.

 

“The hell is that sound?” I shrugged my shoulders.

 

“I have no idea...”

 

“Think maybe it’s the car?” I shook my head.

 

“There’s no way a car can make such a loud sound like that...” Glenn stopped the car and all of them grabbed their weapons and exited the vehicle. I looked around, scanning his surroundings. 

 

“Uh Guys?” I look at Carl to see him looking at something off in the distance. I followed his gaze and noticed something off in the distance as well and it was approaching fast. Then the thumping got louder and louder and before I knew it Daryl was slowing himself down by digging his heels into the gravel. My breath caught in my throat as he slid against the ground, I didn’t think he was going to stop in time but I was glued to the ground. 

 

It happened so fast that I couldn’t have reacted fast enough to help Glenn… poor guy. Daryl had collided full on with the Korean but he wasn’t affected no, it was poor Glenn who was sent to the ground hard, sliding back a few feet away. Daryl looked down at the groaning man as Carl knelt down next to him. However, Glenn wasn’t seriously hurt and he lifted his head to smile at all of us. 

 

“Awesome Dude, reminds me of my high school days.” I let out a low chuckle and look back at Daryl who was looking around the area with a bored expression. 

 

“ **So you all just stop to go sightseeing?** ” I laugh and look at his bored expression.

 

“No, we heard a loud thumping sound and Glenn thought it was the car so we got out to investigate and then you came and tackled Glenn.” 

 

“ **The thumping was me.”** We all look at him l ike he was crazy but he just shrugged and started to walk away. 

 

“Wha… Daryl Wait up.” 

 

“ **No** .” I sigh and look back at Rick, telling them to get the supplies back to Hilltop. I follow Daryl into the woods, looking at him.

 

“Daryl!” I hear him sigh loudly before stopping in his tracks, I smile a little bit while speeding up to catch up to him. Once I was close enough Daryl started to walk again and I realized how silent he was.

 

“How were you making those loud thumping sounds if you’re so silent now?” I see him shrug.

 

“ **Don’t know, just happened when I started running. Then again there are a lot of things I don’t know about myself yet.** ” By now we were deep in the woods, Daryl leading the way with me trailing after him. 

 

“Well I can tell you a few things about yourself.” At this Daryl stopped and looked at me with his dead eyes, it honestly scared me a little bit but I didn’t let it show.

 

“ **Is that so?** ” I nod.

 

“You my friend are loyal, selfless and… very stoic. You are willing to risk your life for the people you call family and are the type of person who punches first and asks questions later. You are very good at hunting and silent on your feet, you used to wield a crossbow but then the Saviors took it.” Daryl just looked at me, at first I thought he was going to kill me but he just huffed and walked away.

 

“ **That Daryl died a few days ago so I’m sorry to bust your bubble but I am not the Daryl you’re used to talking to.** ” I sighed and continued to follow after him.

 

“Did you kill all the walkers back at the town?” 

 

“ **Yes** .”

 

“... All of them?” I slow my pace in astonishment.

 

“ **Yes** .” 

 

“But I thought there was about 50 of them?” 

 

**“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”** At this I stop and look at his back **.**

 

“So what you’re telling me is… you killed about 50 walkers in a horde all by yourself?” 

 

**“It was 40 of them.”**

 

“And you just sensed them? That far away?”

 

“ **Yes** .” He stops and looks around, me not noticing this in time makes me collide into his back. 

 

“What is it?”

 

“ **Just another horde** .” He said this so casually it scared me, why was he like this?

 

“How many?” 

 

“ **Ten** .” My eyes widened and I try to pull him back so we can travel on the road but he doesn’t budge.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I **’m going to kill them** .” Suddenly the walkers stumble out into the clearing we were in, groans and snarls filled the air around us and I felt that familiar adrenaline rush. I take out my knife and stab on that got too close for comfort, stabbing another when I felt their hands try to grab at me. When I was in the clear I look over to Daryl and my eyes widen with my mouth hanging open. There he was, slicing through them like they were paper, his nails tearing at their flesh. I saw his smirk as he ripped them apart, tearing limb from limb as he swiftly moving between the hungry walkers. I watched in astonishment how easily he killed all of them, he finished the last walker by crushing its head in with one  stomp. It was now easy for me to believe that he took out a 40 walker herd. 

 

“ **You just going to stand there with your mouth open?** ”  Daryl walked away, back toward the road and I quickly followed him. I was speechless right now, eyes still bulging out it's sockets with shear astonishment so I followed quietly.

 

**Rick’s Pov,**

  
“You’re here early.” Was all I said as I looked at Negan, who stood by his group of men who were armed and ready to shoot. Me and my group were actually heading back to hopefully sort out all the things we found while scavenging to prepare for Negan’s arrival. That however didn’t seem like his plan since he was now smirking at me with his bat resting on his shoulder. 

 

“Well hold your horses there Rick. Is that how you’re going to greet me?” The bastard asks as he swiftly lifts his bat and starts to twirl it. 

 

“I’ll let that slide for now, I know you’re still a little mad at me for killing… eh… what was his name? Darrow?” 

 

“Daryl.” Glenn growled out, glaring daggers at the bat and Negan. He just smiles his smile and continues to look at me. 

 

“Sorry, allow me to correct myself… For bashing poor Daryl’s skull into brainy mush.” The image brought back horrid feelings, feelings of just sitting there helplessly while watching Daryl get killed painfully and slowly. 

 

“You are here early.” I repeat.

 

“Yeah I know, just wanted to pay an early visit to see if you got the main message.” 

 

“You’re in the way of that.”

 

“I know Rick, trust me but I just wanted a tour to your place. See what I’m working with. ” I look at his men behind him before looking at him again.

 

“Okay then.” He smiles again and leans back with his bat now resting on his shoulder again. 

 

“Perfect, let’s g… ” Negan was cut off by an ear piercing roar, the sound ripping through the air so loudly and clearly it was terrifying. We all look in it’s direction and what I see makes my heart stop and my eyes widen.

 

**“NEGAN!!!!!”**


	9. Whole New Meaning

**Jesus Pov,**

 

I followed Daryl silently, watching intently how he moved. It was no different than how the …  _ human _ Daryl walked which used to be silent and deadly. This new Daryl was just as deathly silent as before, with the exception of a few more levels to his wrath. Daryl moved through the dead leaves gracefully, not making as sound but me on the other hand was much more noisy compared to him. 

 

“ **Get down.** ” I hear him say, being torn from my thoughts at his deep, smooth voice. I look to see Daryl crouched down behind a few closely large trees, thick and tall. He blended in perfectly and I’m sure if the others were to look in our direction, they would see nothing but sun rays and green. It still amazed me how Daryl was able to sense anything, be it living or dead, without actually seeing them first. His attention span was double the amount now than it was before, giving him the advantage on almost anything that confronts or come into his way. 

 

“What’s wrong?” I whisper over to him, taking my spot beside him behind another thick tree. He looks over to me with his dead eyes and I couldn’t help the nervousness that filled me when they landed on my being. It seemed that when he was engulfed in shadows, his eyes were more prominent and piercing. 

 

“ **Humans** .” He simply stated and that’s all I needed to hear. I nod before looking through the small patch of leaves that were growing on the sides of the tall tree, Daryl doing the same but I was certain he was having no trouble seeing them from as far as we were.

 

“How many?” 

 

**“About Eight but three of them is from your group.** ” Daryl mutters, his voice even more deep this way. It sends shivers down my spine but I ignore that feeling for now. 

 

“What, You see Rick?” I asked worriedly, Rick needs to get those supplies to Alexandria before Negan decided to show up. 

 

“ **Yes, he seems to be conversing with the unifamiliares.** ” Daryl states matter-of-factly before returning to spying on the newcomers. It only takes me a few minutes to realize  _ who  _ that is standing and talking to Rick.

 

“Well shit… ” I mumble but of course Daryl heard me.

 

“Hmm?” If it was any other time I would have refrained from telling Daryl who exactly that was holding the bat but I was so not thinking and my next words were ones I deeply regretted.

 

“The one holding the bat, the one talking to Rick is Negan.” At that moment Daryl’s eyes went completely black, a yellow ring forming in the shape of his pupil. I never got to elaborate further because next thing I’m aware of, Daryl is halfway toward Negan and the Saviors, a horrid roar of the man’s name leaving his lips and echoing throughout the fucking universe. 

 

“SHIT!!” I run after Daryl, hoping I could get to him in time.

 

**Third Person Pov,**

 

“ **NEGAN!!!!** ” He yells as he charges at the baseball bat wielding man at full speed. Said man looked caught off guard, a little confused and most of all - afraid. Daryl didn’t slow down at the shouts of his name, didn’t slow down when the bullets started penetrating his body either, Daryl only had one goal and that was to get his claws on the one proclaimed as Negan. 

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DUMB FUCKS DOING? KILL IT!!!!” Negan bellowed as he dodged a swipe that would have sliced his head clean off his body. Negan watched the man turn around but he moved to fast for Negan to get a clear look at his face. From there it was a blur of swipes, kicks and dodges. Bullets flew but it didn’t seem to even faze the crazy man, it just kept coming at Negan full force. 

 

Rick didn’t know what to do, he wanted to stand there and do nothing and watch Daryl kill the bastard but then he was also afraid of how the Saviors would react if Negan were to die. Would they back off? Or would they kill every single one of them? With these conflicting thoughts Rick made his decision and aimed his gun at Daryl, something he thought he’d never have to do again. He predicted Daryl’s next move and as he pulled the trigger, he was thrown down memory lane.

 

**Flash Back-**

 

_ Daryl stumbled out of the woods, covered in blood that was both his own and not. Rick ran toward him, followed by Shane and Glenn while Andrea kept an eye on the presumed walker stumbling toward them. Rick and Shane got there first, surprised to see that it was Daryl and Rick took aim at the hunter’s head, assuming that Daryl was no longer human. Shane aimed his shotgun as well, presuming Daryl to be another walker while Glenn stood behind them. They were about to shoot, and would have if Daryl hadn’t opened his mouth.  _

 

_ “I told you to stop pointing that at my head!” Daryl yelled at him and they were all so relieved to see that Daryl wasn’t a walker. However, despite Rick’s orders on not to use the rifle, Andrea took her shot and hit Daryl. The bullet grazed his temple, snapping his head to the side and falling to the ground unconscious. Rick, Shane and Glenn rushed to the hunter’s aid and pulled him up, Glenn mentioning the necklace of walker ears around the rednecks neck while Rick ordered that the whole incident will not be mentioned to Hershal. Rick was scared for Daryl’s life, angry with the blonde bitch and her lack of following orders.  _

 

**End of Flashback-**

 

Rick shook himself from the memory, only then realizing the piercing scream that filled the air. There was a hole in Daryl’s head, said man on his knee while he covered his face. Silence filled the air around them, Negan’s men ceased their shooting, Negan on his ass, looking at the injured Daryl with a shocked expression. 

 

“ **I. Will. Kill. You. ALL!!!!** ” Daryl all but bellows and quickly jumps from his spot and onto Negan, said man struggling to keep Daryl’s hands at bay. While Negan struggled to keep the claws away from tearing his skin, his men started to shoot as well as Rick. Glenn was a little skeptical, they just got Daryl to not kill them and Rick is going to jeopardize that by helping Negan? Although he can see the man’s reasoning, it was hard to convince himself to help the man that killed his best friend. 

 

Jesus pounces onto Daryl’s back, not thinking of his actions but only to stop Daryl from killing the man. He knew that once Daryl knew who Negan was, he would go after him. It was his mistake that he told Daryl who the man was and he was going to fix his mistake. 

 

He clutched onto Daryl’s shoulders, bringing his arms under the the rednecks armpits and using all of his strength to pull him back. It took Glenn, me, Rick and two saviors to pull Daryl off of Negan, said man breathing heavily and looking beyond confused and frightened. 

  
  


**Negan pov.**

 

I stood up on shaking legs, this is the second time I’ve been thoroughly frightened, the first time being back when this all started. I looked at Jesus, the man from the Hilltop community and squinted my eyes. ‘ _ What is he doing here… and with them? _ ’ I thought before my eyes shifted to the redneck. I remember him faintly but I can’t quite remember from where. He looks dead… like a walker without the gray rotten skin or the snarls and snapping teeth. Maybe he was one of lucille's victims? That has to be it, I mean- look at him! What normal human looks that way? But if he was Lucille’s victim then…

 

How is he alive and glaring the ultimate death glare at me right now?

 

His eyes are completely black save for a yellow ring around resembling the pupil, he had dark black claws that were pretty long and thick, probably could tear through me easily like a sword. By the way, where’s Michonne? Haven’t seen her fine ass in a while… wonder if she’ll be up for a round… or two. 

 

I turn to Rick, a man I’ve come to distrust and hate easily but he works for me and he looks like a man to not play around so I’ll give him some credit. “What the hell is that?” I point to the deathly still redneck who was watching my every move like a hawk… creepy how he doesn’t even fucking blink. 

 

“I don’t know.” I look at him, he seems to be just as confused as I am while the asian looks… stoic. Jesus is still refraining the redneck but I doubt he’s actually doing anything. 

 

“Does anyone know what he… that thing is?” No answer. I sigh, picking up my bat and walking to the… whatever it was. I lowered myself down to eye level with it, something I knew was a bad idea but hey, all my life has been filled with bad ideas. 

 

“Can you speak?” I asked cautiously, ready to swing my bat if necessary. It just sits there, looking at me with those flat and dead eyes, dull with no life in them. 

 

“Do you do anything besides pounce on people?” No answer. I sighed, looking into it’s eyes.

 

“Can you understand me?” No answer again, just that unnerving stare. I rise up again, looking down at it before turning away. I order my men to pile into the cars, we were going home. I began to walk away when a deep, grumbly inhuman voice spoke up from behind me, catching my attention. I turn to look at it from over my shoulder, it looked as if it hadn’t moved an inch so where-

 

“ **Negan. Heed my warning. I. Will. Get. You.** ” IT spoke in a deathly calm voice, looking at me. I only nodded, what the hell was I supposed to say to something like that? And I really didn’t want to stick around any longer with IT around so I headed toward my car, my right hand man by the wheel so I hopped onto the back. We drove off and as I looked back toward Rick and his small group my eyes widened as a shiver of fear shook my spine. IT was still on the ground, on it’s knees staring at me unblinkingly as I drove away but that’s not was frightened me the most. What disturbed me was the casual smile etched onto its face as it watched me go. The smile did not go well with its complexion nor did it reach its eyes but it made it a hell of a lot more disturbing. I turned away, not wanting to look at it but even as we did I could still feel its eyes on me. Boring into my back as I drove away. The feeling stuck even when we arrived at base and as I headed toward the room where my wives were at I couldn’t shake the feeling that IT was some how still watching me. 

 

Fear just took on a WHOLE new meaning.


	10. A/N

To any fans of this series,

I am sorry to say that I will be deleting this story off of my account. Why? Well, I feel that I can do better, the first four chapters came out awesome but after that everything started to feel half-assed and bummy in my opinion. Every time I posted a new chapter I felt, I knew I could write better and the chapters after 4 just didn't seem to live up to my liking or compare.

I will repost this again, when I have rewritten a more clearer plot and a better understanding to what happened to Daryl. I already saved the first four chapters and I will continue to write accordingly before I upload anymore chapters. ?I will upload the finished product after the rest of my stories are finished.

I apologize if you are disappointed in this but I promise that you haven't seen the last of this story.

 

Sincerely Awesomekiller666


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